Worlds Collide: Part Two
by Litta
Summary: This is the second part to my story so go read the first part if you haven't!. It still follows Litta and the others, but some more characters are brought back and the plot deepens...
1. Leaving Notes

**Chapter 1**

She stood in the middle of the crowd. Everyone walked around her and ignored her. In the pouring rain, she was the only one without an umbrella. Those who didn't have one stood out of the rain. Most people had heard by now that Rufus Shinra was alive and working again. Some also knew that Sephiroth had come back. Of those who knew, some were afraid while others refused to hide.

Litta decided to head back home, or what she called home for now. After running around for two years, a few new cities had popped up. She waited until they had been searched enough and then made one home. As she made her way through the crowd, she saw a familiar face. She turned away quickly, hoping he hadn't seen her. She'd been dodging Squall for two years. She had run into him a few times, but had been able to avoid being seen by him. She knew he was still looking for her after she left him the first time. _I wanted to think about things,_ she thought, _sort them out. For the most part, I've just been running from everyone._

Rufus Shinra had sent a few Turks after her. The most surprising visit had brought a hint that Reno was alive. _I saw him die with Cloud. They could have brought him back shortly after I left. Maybe they saved Cloud too..._ She stopped. _If they saved Cloud, they would still have him. They know he has information about me. But I want it first. I have to find out if he's alive._ She knew who she needed to talk to, but she didn't know where to go.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of a business suit. _Perfect timing._ She made her way over to where she had seen it. _A gun shop, of course. Where else would you go? _She waited outside for a while, and then he came out.

"Hello Rude," she said from behind him. He turned slowly.

"Are you going to come quietly then?"

"I might...consider it, but you have to answer some questions first. Are you willing to agree to that?"

"Hmmm. A tempting offer, but I only need to bring you in. I don't feel like giving you information unless it benefits me."

"Well you're right." Rude looking a little puzzled. "It wouldn't benefit you to tell me anything, but you're going to anyway."

"I won't be doing anything of the sort."

"Oh yes you will." She rammed the butt of her gun into the back of his head and he was out cold. _That wasn't too hard. Now I just have to get him back without drawing too much attention. _She hoisted him over her shoulder and walked away from the store.

He had turned to look into the crowd. He thought he felt someone looking at him. He was about to continue on his way when he caught the back of someone who looked vaguely familiar. _No, she wouldn't be here. It's too obvious, and yet, could it be her? No, it's just my imagination._ He turned back to the store and walked in. When he came back out, he saw the same person's back, only now a Turk was being carried over her shoulder. He shrugged it off, figuring it to be some debt being settled, and continued to search for Litta, whom he had been searching for for two years.

As she dropped him roughly on the couch, Rude began to stir. He sat bolt upright, and looked around. When he spotted Litta's gun in his face, he stood up slowly.

"I would sit back down if I were you."

"And why is that?" he asked, while slowly sitting back down.

"Because it will be more comfortable while you answer my questions."

"I already told you, I'm not answer-"

"You are going to answer my questions, or you won't be leaving at all." He considered this for a moment, before answering. When he did, he spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"What is it you want to know?"

"I want to know about any prisoners you might have. Who they are, and what you're holding them for."

"I'm not altogether sure of every prisoner we have. I don't deal with them all, just a select few."

"Then tell me about those few. Who are they?" she questioned.

"Why do you want to know?" he shot back.

"You aren't in a position to be asking questions. Just answer mine and I might answer some of yours. Now who are the prisoners you deal with?" She said it with more force this time, less like a question.

"I know of a few scientists, one doctor, and a few miscellaneous persons."

"Who are the miscellaneous persons?"

"No one important. They're just there for some testing and experimentation."

"Who are they?" He hesitated.

"Vincent Valentine and," he took a breath, knowing this would start something, "Cloud Strife." _I knew it. They do have him. They've just been holding him, probably trying to get information out of him about me._

"I thought Cloud was dead. Did Rufus revive him?"

"Yes. He found Reno and Cloud dead after you left. He healed both of them, and kept it a secret that Reno was alive. He wanted to make sure that you never found out that Cloud was alive, so no one would break him out." He added the last bit when the grip on her gun visibly tightened.

"Where is Cloud exactly?"

"I'm afraid I don't know that. He was moved before I was sent to find you."

"Where could they have moved him to?"

"Any number of places."

"Who would know where he is?"

"Rufus," he stated simply.

"Fine." Suddenly she raised her hand and had cast a sleeping spell on him before he could move. He slumped to the ground. She carried him a ways away, before dropping him in the forest and heading back. She knew what she had to do. She waited until the next day before she went into town. She went to the store where she had seen him yesterday and walked in. She went to the counter and hit the bell. After a few minutes, a short old man came in from the back.

"Can I help you?"

"Did this man come into your shop yesterday?" She held up a picture of Squall. The man studied it for a while before responding.

"Yes, yes he did. He came in and, seemed to be in a bad mood, looked around. He finally stopped and looked at the display of weapons we have. A fine selection if you ask me. We ordered them just a few weeks ago. Kids these days, all they care about is fighting. Back when I-"

"I don't need to know what weapons you have." She stopped the man from finishing the story. She didn't have an hour to sit and listen to him. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Why of course. He talked about-" she interrupted him again.

"Did he happen to mention where he was staying?" He thought for a moment.

"Well, he did buy something, a nice-"

"I don't want to know what he bought. I need to know-" It was her turn to be interrupted.

"I know what you asked. Just let me finish this sentence. He said he couldn't take it with him at the moment, but I could send it to the Batail Hotel and he would appreciate it. Why do you need to know?"

"That's for me to know. Thanks for your help."

She bought some ammo for her guns, she'd been running low, so he wouldn't be angry about her taking up his time. Once she was out of the store, she headed to the Batail Hotel. She was going to leave a little note for someone, someone she hadn't wanted to see or talk to for two years.

"May I help you?" asked the man behind the counter.

"Yes. Is there a Squall Leonhart staying here?"

"Yes there is. Shall I call him down for you?"

"No," she answered immediately. "I need to leave a message for him. Could I leave it here and you can give it to him the next time he comes down?"

"Of course." She sat in a chair across the room and began to write:

_Dear Squall,_

_I am unable to meet you in person, but I am certain you will understand. I have information concerning Cloud Strife and Vincent Valentine. I will tell you more but under __one condition: you must consider a proposition I will present to you at a later time. It you are interested in any of this, leave a note at the front desk by tomorrow at noon. Do not __wait for me, or I will not come. I will reply to what you write me in the same way as this._

She thought for a moment. She didn't know how to sign it. She couldn't sign her name, or she might as well meet with him in person. Instead she wrote: - a friend

_That should do it,_ she thought. She folded the note and handed it to the man. She walked out and headed back home, knowing she would be here again in less than 24 hours.

Squall headed down the stairs, hoping to send a telegram to Irvine and see if he knew anything about Litta. _I haven't heard from him in a long time, just Zell. Maybe he's been really busy. Or maybe he's been, no, he's just been busy. _As he came up to the front desk, the man behind it turned.

"Good afternoon Mr. Leonhart. There's been a message left here for you." He handed Squall the note. Squall went across the room and sat down in a chair. He opened the note. After reading it through twice, he went back up to the desk.

"When was this left here?" he asked quickly.

"About thirty minutes ago."

"Why didn't you tell me I had a note waiting?"

"I was given strict orders not to do so. I was to give it to you the next time you came down."

"Who left this?" He held up the note.

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"I was told not to."

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

"I wasn't told to tell you anything. But if I were you, I would answer that note." He turned back behind the counter to whatever else he had been doing before.

Squall headed back up to his room, the letter to Irvine forgotten. He wrote a response and brought it back down to the counter. After telling the man to inform him immediately if a response was written, he headed out the door to search the town again.

At half past noon, Litta entered the hotel. She walked up to the desk. There was an older man behind the desk. _How will he know the note's for me? Oh well, I guess I'll just have to hope for the best._

"May I help you Miss?"

"Yes. There is supposed to be a note for me to pick up."

"Your name Miss?"

"It isn't addressed to me. It's for me," she added at the look on the man's face, "but it's not in my name."

"And who is this note for?"

"I just told you, it's for me."

"What's for you?"

"The note."

"What note?"

"There is a note here for me, but it doesn't have my name on it. Can you see if there is an outgoing note from Squall Leonhart?"

"Is that who it's for?"

"No, that's who it's from." The man turned to check the letter boxes. _How old is this man? His memory is plain horrible. I hope he finds it, I don't have any more information to give him._ He turned back.

"There is a note here from Mr. Leonhart addressed to 'a friend'. Would that be you?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the friend."

"Who's friend?"

"Squall Leonhart's."

"Who is Squall?"

"The writer of that note."

"What note?"

"The note in your hand." He noticed the note again. _I don't know how much more of this I can handle._

"And what is this note?"

"It's for me."

"And who are you?"

"Look. That note is from Squall Leonhart. It is addressed to 'a friend'. I'm the friend, so that is my note."

"Oh, well why didn't you say so? Would you like it?"

"Yes!" she yelled as she took the note from his hand and ran out the door. As she walked along the street, she opened the note and read what was written inside:

_Dear Friend,_

_I understand your wish to remain unknown. I am interested in the information you have, so I will consider the proposition. Please send a return note by noon tomorrow._

_- Squall_

After reading the note, she got out a piece of paper to write a response. When she finished, she walked back to the hotel and carefully explained to the man what to do with the note. As she walked back through the city, she saw Squall coming out of a store. She turned the other way immediately. She followed him back to the hotel, and saw him go straight to the counter. The man handed him the note.

"Yes sir, a note was left for you while you were away. Here it is." He handed Squall the note and opened it immediately.

_Dear Squall,_

_The people I mentioned before are being held prisoner by Rufus Shinra. I now have proof that Cloud Strife is alive. The proposition I mentioned is a rescue mission. I wish for you to bring Cloud here so I may speak with him in person. Do this for me and you will be rewarded._

_- a friend_

As Squall looked up from the letter, he saw her standing in the doorway looking at him. He was up and running at the door before she had time to turn the other way.

"Litta!" He was calling her name through the crowd. He was running after her, she could hear him, but she was also running.

She turned down one street, then another. She never looked behind her, afraid she would run over something and be caught by Squall. Eventually the sound of his footsteps died away, and she made her way back home.

"That was too close," she said aloud once she had closed the door.

"Right you are," said a voice from the shadows.

"Who's there?"

"Don't you recognize my voice?" _No. Not now. I need to know Squall's answer._ "I take your silence as a no. My name is Reno."


	2. Reunions

**Chapter 2**

When Litta arrived at the Shin-Ra building with Reno, she thought about finding Cloud. _If he is alive, then I'll find him. Then I can ask him about my past._

"Keep moving. Rufus is waiting for you." Reno pushed her forward into the elevator. When they reached Rufus, he was sitting at his desk. He seemed to be unhappy about something.

"What took you so long Reno?" he asked.

"I had a few problems with her," he pointed at Litta.

"And I thought you wanted to see her after all this time. If I knew you couldn't handle her, I would have sent Tseng." Reno said nothing. "Go check on our newest Turk and see how she's doing." He left Litta with Rufus without saying another word. "So Litta, how have you been since our last meeting?"

"Why do you care?"

"Such anger. Perhaps I should let you calm down before we talk."

"I'm not going to calm down. What do you want with me?" Before Rufus responded, another man walked up.

"You wanted me sir?" he asked Rufus.

"Yes. This is the specimen I informed you about. I've already given you your instructions." The man nodded.

"This is my personal," Rufus thought for a moment, "doctor," he finished. "He will be running a test on you."

"Specimen? Test? Do you think I'm just going to let you experiment on me?"

"Yes actually. If you don't go with him willingly, I have ways of forcing you." She didn't trust Rufus, but she had no choice. She walked in front of the man, and he led her into what looked like a lab.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

"Get on that table over there." He pointed to an operating table across the room. It was standing upright, so she stood against it. He came over and strapped her down, then he raised the table so she was lying down.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked again. He didn't respond this time. He just walked over to a control panel and started to push a few buttons. Suddenly Litta felt an electric charge and then she blacked out.

She woke up later in a room that looked familiar. _Must be the same cell I was in last time,_ she thought. At that moment, Reno came in.

"Awake finally I see. Did you enjoy your nap?" he asked sarcastically.

"What do you want?"

"Rufus wants to see you."

"I could have guessed that." She allowed herself to be led back up to Rufus. He seemed to be in a better mood today.

"I hope you are a bit calmer today." Litta said nothing. "No comment? Well, then-"

"What did you do to me?" she interrupted.

"I do not enjoy being interrupted. We just did an experiment on you involving the strength of magic. As I was saying, I would like to do some tests on you today." The scientist walked in. "Sans, you know what to do." Sans nodded.

Reno pushed her out of the room. He pushed her all the way to the lab, then left her in the care of Sans.

"Please get on that table over there." He pointed to a nearby table. She obeyed and he strapped her in just like the day before. This time though, he inserted a needle into her arm. He didn't bother to numb the area first, so she felt the pain. Then he hooked up some more tubes and went to the monitor.

"This shouldn't hurt very much." He pressed a button and she felt something entering her arm from the needle. _He lied. This hurts worse than anything, but I won't cry out. I won't let him know he's hurting me._ "Maybe you're stronger than I thought." He turned a lever and the pain increased. Still no cry of pain.

"Sans, please come up to my office for a moment. I need to see you," Rufus said over the loud speaker. Sans turned off the machine and left her. Litta let out a sigh. After a minute, Reno came in.

"You made me look like a fool in front of Rufus yesterday. Thought you'd get away with it too, didn't you?" He had a smile on his face that scared Litta.

"I never said much did I?" she replied.

"You said enough." He turned on the machine, only he turned it on all the way. The pain was unbelievable. Litta did everything she could to not cry out. Just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer, a man with spiked blonde hair came in.

"What do you think you're doing Reno?" he yelled. He ran to the machine and turned it off.

"Why are you up here Cloud?" _Cloud! I knew you were alive._

"You didn't think I'd actually let you torture her to death did you?"

"I was hoping. Get back. She deserves this."

"The only one who deserves this is you." He pulled out his sword as Reno pulled out his blade.

"Put your weapons away, both of you." Rufus had come back. Sans was behind him. "Reno, I thought I told you to leave this girl alone. Take Cloud back to his cell."

"Yes sir." Reno pushed Cloud out.

"Sorry about that Sans. I hope your test isn't ruined.

"Actually that will work just fine."

"I'll leave you to your work then." Rufus left and shut the door behind him. Sans went back to the machine.

"It's amazing how much pain you can endure. I'm impressed."

"Is that a compliment?" She was in no mood to talk.

"Yes, well, I guess I'll get back to work. As for you, for being such a good sport, I'll let you rest for the rest of the day." Tseng came in at that moment and took her back to her room. She fell asleep immediately, against her attempts to stay awake.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

_She knelt by her father, watching the rocks tumble around. She saw her father's enemies leaving. The one who had dealt the final blow to her father was trying to get to her. His friend was holding him back._

"_Leave her Cloud. We have to go." They were cut off right then by some rocks._

"_Go Litta," her father told her. He was whispering now, close to death._

"_I won't leave you."_

"_You can't die here. You have to get out. Please, leave now..." He died on those last words._

"_No!" She shook him, hoping to wake him up, but it was no use. The rocks were falling harder and quicker. She got up, and with one last look at her father, took off. She climbed up through the tunnel she had used to get down there. She fell down the first time when she was hit by a rock. She started again and held on tighter. When she reached the top, she turned into the tunnel she had used to get to the cave._

_She crawled through the tunnel for a while. She stumbled every so often, over a rock or from the ground shaking. She knew she was in a tunnel under the ocean, but she wasn't thinking about that. She was only thinking of her father. After a long time crawling through the tunnel, she arrived under Midgar. She crawled out and looked around. Everything was in ruins. Not just her mansion, but the rest of the remains of Midgar as well. She sat down and began to cry silently. She heard footsteps approaching. She stood up and turned around._

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Squall had returned to his hotel room, a bit disappointed he had lost her. He was hoping to talk to her. She was obviously the one who had been writing him the notes, yet she still was running from him. _I don't get it. I thought she'd be ready to talk to me by now. Maybe if I get Cloud back for her, she'll talk to me. I have to see her again and sort things out._ He decided to head to Shin-Ra to get Cloud. That was the only thing he could do.

When he reached there, it was late and he was tired. He found some caves nearby and decided to get a little rest before he got Cloud. He never suspected that Cloud wouldn't be the only one he would be rescuing.

Litta was woken up in the middle of the night by someone gently nudging her. It was persistent, so she decided to open one eye.

"Cloud!"

"Ssh," he told her. "Everyone's asleep except Reno, and he's waiting for an excuse to come in here and beat the tar out of you."

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Follow me. We can talk later," he added, noting the look on her face.

"But what about Vincent?"

"Vincent's here?" She nodded. She showed him the room and Cloud opened it. Vincent quickly got up, without asking questions. They followed Cloud out and were on the bottom floor when the alarm went off.

"Quick!" Cloud led them outside and into a cave he thought only he knew about.

"Squall!" Litta saw him in the back. He quickly put his hand over her mouth, knowing full well they shouldn't be heard. She struggled a little, but eventually gave up. Above them, they could hear Reno and a few others running about. Once they thought it was safe, they got out and ran into the forest, still without talking.

"Long time no see, Cloud," Squall said after a while.

"Too long I say." They shook hands. Vincent stood off to the side. "You too Vincent," Cloud said as he shook Vincent's hand. Then he turned to Litta. "And I'm happy to meet you Litta, without being in danger of death."

"That's what you think." Tseng came out from behind a tree.

"I thought one of you might have stayed out here, but I had my money on Reno. Did you get stuck with the dirty work this time Tseng?" Cloud teased.

"I'm here for Litta. You and she need to come with me, and I'll let the other two live if you come quietly."

"And you should know by now that that isn't going to happen," Cloud replied.

"Yes, well, I expected that." Cloud and Squall drew their swords, while Litta, Tseng, and Vincent pulled out guns. "But who is bold enough to make the first move?" he asked. Squall did the honors. Tseng dodged and fired at Cloud. Cloud blocked, but the bullet went into Litta's stomach. "I think that will do for now." He smiled and then ran off. Squall was puzzled, as was Cloud, but both turned their attention to Litta.

"I'm out of magic. They took it," was all she said. Squall used Curaga, but something was wrong. The wound healed up and the bullet dropped out. Litta on the other hand doubled over in pain. She screamed out.

"What's wrong?" Squall asked.

"I...don't...know," she gasped. She couldn't move because that made it hurt, but doing nothing seemed just as bad. _What did he do to me? Maybe he used the wrong magic by mistake. But no, I heard him say Curaga. And the wound is healed._ _But then, what's wrong? Why am I in so much pain?_

"We have to keep moving Squall."

"I know, but what about her?"

"I don't know. We'll just have to carry her until we can heal her." Cloud started walking, leaving Squall to carry Litta. She wasn't happy and would have protested, only she was in too much pain. They walked, then ran, then walked some more. No one spoke. They reached Maetar and checked into a hotel. The clerk looked at Litta a bit funny, but said nothing.

"Squall, are you sure you used Curaga on her?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. I know I used Curaga, but I don't know why she's in so much pain."

"Neither do I."

"Maybe I should try," Vincent put in. Squall nodded, so Vincent went over to the bed where Squall had put her. He healed her with Cura, but again Litta doubled over in pain. "I don't get it. This should be helping her, not causing her pain."

"It might wear off in a while, so why don't we let her rest," Cloud suggested. "We can talk in the other room." They filed out and shut the door.

"Why is she in so much pain?" Squall asked.

"When I saw Litta after she was brought in," Cloud said, "she was in the lab for an experiment."

"What kind of an experiment does that?" Squall asked again.

"No one knows Squall," Vincent said. "The experiments are kept top secret for a reason."

"Well how do we find out what he did to her?

"Squall, calm down," Cloud told him. "We need to think this through before we act. For now, we can't use any curative magic on her."

"What if she gets hurt?" Vincent pointed out. "How do we heal her then?"

"We can't let her get hurt," Squall decided.

"Cloud, how did you get out?" Vincent asked.

"Tseng left when Rufus called him and I was able to bust down my door. I knew where they were holding Litta, so I went to get her. She told me you were there Vincent so we got you too." No one said anything for a little bit. All they could hear was Litta in the other room.

"Squall, could you watch Litta for a few minutes," Vincent asked.

"Why?"

"I need to speak with Cloud and I want to make sure someone's watching Litta."

"Fine." Squall walked back in, leaving Vincent with Cloud.

"What happened to you Cloud?"

"You mean a little over two years ago?" Vincent nodded. "I told you that I was going to see Rufus about Litta. I got there, but somehow he found out that I was coming. Tseng was waiting for me and they put me in a room. I wondered why he wanted me, and why he waited to see me, but I found out when I heard them with Litta. I'm sure she told you how she saw me die, along with Reno. Shortly after she left, Rude came and revived both Reno and myself. They locked me up again, and made sure they kept security on me at all times. They wanted to make sure I didn't escape, since they knew I had information on Litta.

"Rufus called me in to talk every so often. He tried many different ways of getting me to tell him what I knew, but I never told him. I lied a little and sometimes insulted him. I knew his patience was running thin when I found out that they were experimenting on Litta. That was the first time the security on me relaxed a little. I took my chances and was able to get out, along with you two."

"How much do you know about Litta?"

"Not a whole lot, but more than anyone else I'm pretty sure."

"More than Sephiroth?" Cloud stopped. _Sephiroth? He's alive?_

"What do you mean Sephiroth?" Vincent explained what happened when Litta read the book. "So he's alive again." _I wonder if he knows I'm alive. Hopefully not. Would he go to Rufus? _"What has happened since I've been at Shin-Ra?" Vincent told him everything up until he was brought to Shin-Ra.

"You'll have to ask Squall or Litta about the rest. I've been at Shin-Ra for the past two years." Cloud only nodded.

When Squall walked in, Litta seemed to be doing a little better. She was facing the wall, but turned over slowly to see who had come in.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"What do you want?" _She's angry with me, but why? Is she still wondering about the things Sephiroth told her? I thought she'd have been over that by now._

"Are you angry with me?" She didn't answer. "Why?" Still no answer. "If it's because of what Sephir-"

"Do NOT mention his name in my presence!" She held her stomach as the pain made a revisit. Once it had subsided, she tried again. "I don't want to ever hear my father's name as long as I live. Is that clear?" _So she's calling him her father, not Sephiroth._

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." He sat down, slowly, on the edge of the bed. She turned around so she could see him clearly.

"Why do you care?" There wasn't as much anger in her voice this time.

"I want to know why you've been avoiding me all this time. I've been looking for you, and then when I finally find you, you run the other way. Don't I deserve to know why you are hiding from me?" She thought this over for a few minutes.

"When I left you, I told you I wanted to sort things out." Squall nodded. "For two years, I was running and not thinking. I wanted to be alone, but there were Turks and you and-" she paused.

"Sephiroth?" Squall offered.

"Yes. I had one run in with him since I left you."

"What happened?"

"It was about a year ago. I was in the ruins of Midgar, searching through debris from my old homes. I heard someone behind me and thought it was a Turk. I turned around and Sephiroth was standing there. He told me it was time for me to rejoin him. Time to destroy and rebuild the world. I thought I'd be able to get away. He brought me to that island again. He thought I had the book and was sorely disappointed when he found out otherwise. I tried to lie and play along with what he said after that. He could see right through me though. When he eventually brought me back, I ran away. At first he didn't see me, but he did pretty quickly. I tried to fight him, but he was too strong. Suddenly he stood up and left. I had no idea where he went or what he was doing, but I wasn't staying around to find out.

"I made my home in **Maetar **(see bottom) and tried to keep a low profile. I found out that Cloud was alive, and knew I had to talk with him. That's when I saw you in town. I left you those notes hoping you would get Cloud and bring him to me. I was still trying to avoid you. When you were chasing me that day, I got home and Reno was waiting for me."

"What did they do to you at Shin-Ra?" He was hoping to find a clue as to why they couldn't heal her.

"They did an experiment on me. I don't know what exactly. Then they were doing testing, seeing how much pain I could endure. They were going to do more but Cloud got me out first." At that moment, Vincent and Cloud came in.

"You seem to be doing better," Cloud commented.

"Yes. I want to ask you some questions if that's all right."

"I thought you might. But I'd like to wait until the morning. I think we're all a little tired, and you most of all."

"I guess. It's just, you seem to have all the answers to my past. I've been waiting to talk to you for over two years."

"I know, but I think you can wait one more night."

"Okay." They all went to bed and planned on hearing Cloud answer some very important questions in the morning.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"_What do you know about her?"_

"_I told you. The only person who will ever get this information out of me is Litta." He received another punch in the mouth._

"_Don't be smart with me. I will make you tell me Cloud. You can't resist forever."_

"_You'd be surprised Reno." Reno continued beating him up._

"_How sad Cloud. It's only been an hour and you can't even stand up anymore." He kicked him in the stomach, again and again. There was blood dripping from Cloud's mouth. "Now tell me what you know!" He threw him against the wall, but Cloud didn't get up this time._

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Maetar**: one of a few new cities that were built during the two years of Litta's absence


	3. A New Turk

**Chapter 3**

Litta woke up feeling horrible. _They treated you horribly Cloud, but how do I know that? Did you ever give in? Why did you just let them beat you like that? They almost killed you!_ Suddenly she realized someone was outside her door, fumbling with the lock. Litta quickly got out of bed and grabbed her guns. The door opened and a girl about Litta's age came in.

"Litta? Are you in here?" she called into the darkness. _I don't know her, do I? Maybe she's from my past. But yet, I feel like I don't._ "Litta?"

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you, but not here." _Her voice sounds almost desperate. Maybe she seriously knows me from somewhere. It can't hurt to talk to her._

"All right, lead the way." The girl nodded. She led Litta out of the hotel and into the forest. After a couple of minutes, she stopped.

"This is good."

"Who are you?" Litta asked.

"My name is Danis." As a smile began creeping across her face Litta thought, _I have a bad feeling about this._ "And I'm your worst nightmare." She brought out a gun and pointed it directly at Litta's forehead. "March to Shin-Ra. Any funny business and I'll put you through pain you didn't know was possible." Litta had no choice.

_So she's a Turk. I don't remember seeing her...no, she never had anything to do with me. How do I get out of this? No one will be up for a couple of hours,_ she thought. Little didn't she know how far from the truth she was.

Cloud woke up first. When he saw that no one else was up, he left quietly so as not to disturb them. He walked into Litta's room and turned on the light. _She's gone!_ He ran back into the room.

"Vincent, Squall, get up!" He shook them each until they were both wide awake. "Litta's gone!"

"Not again," Squall mumbled. They got up and went into her room. They looked everywhere for signs of where she might have gone. "Cloud, she took her guns." Squall noticed they were missing from her desk drawer. "Where would she go?"

"I think you mean who would make her go somewhere," Vincent said.

"You're right Vincent," Cloud agreed. "We have to find her. My guess is that a Turk was here. But which one?" They grabbed their stuff and left the hotel. They headed in the direction of the rebuilt Shin-Ra building.

"It's too bad Rufus didn't die in the Diamond Weapon attack," Squall thought aloud.

"He should have died," Cloud informed Squall. "I think someone must have healed him afterwards at some point. I don't know who, but I wouldn't mind finding out."

"So you mind telling us what you know about Litta?" Squall asked.

"I would rather wait and tell Litta first. After all, it is about her past. She should be the first to hear it, or give me permission to tell anyone else." Vincent nodded, and Squall asked no more questions.

"Keep moving!" Litta had fallen again and had to be picked up by Danis. Litta was hoping to stall enough to give Cloud and the others some time to catch up. "Don't you think I know what you're doing? You're hoping to give those friends of yours time to find you, but they won't be able to get you away from me."

"Wanna bet?" Litta mumbled.

"I heard that." She kicked Litta behind the knees, causing her to fall again. "Stop falling or I might lose my patience with you." Litta got up and kept moving.

"How old are you?" _Hopefully I can keep her mind off hurting me._

"Nineteen."

"How long have you been a Turk?"

"Two years. Stop asking questions." Again they moved in silence.

"Why did you become a Turk?" she asked after a while.

"That's none of your business!" she snapped.

"Well what is my business then?" Litta shot back.

"Nothing! Now if you don't keep moving you'll find yourself in a world of pain!" Litta took that moment to kick her leg behind her and trip Danis. It worked, except as Litta got up, Danis grabbed her hair and she fell back down.

"Let me go!"

"You're coming to Shin-Ra with me!"

"No I'm not!"

"Oh yes you are!" They kept up this talk while they struggled on the ground. Litta was attempting to free herself while Danis was holding on tight. Danis kneed Litta in the stomach, while Litta punched her in the face.

"I thought you'd be able to handle her Danis," said a cool voice from the distance. Both stopped moving. Tseng slowly emerged from the shadows. Danis stood up, still gripping Litta's hair tightly.

"I can."

"From what I just witnessed, it appears otherwise."

"I'm doing just fine. What are you doing here anyways?"

"Rufus sent me to see what was taking you so long. I think I have a pretty good idea too."

"You don't need to go telling Rufus I can't handle some teenage girl by myself. I was doing just fine when you showed up." Tseng shot up an eyebrow in disbelief. "I can prove it!"

"I don't need your proof. Rufus needs to see you as soon as possible. I'll take Litta so you can go ahead and talk to him."

"I guess." She handed Litta over to Tseng and ran ahead towards Shin-Ra.

"So nice to see you again Litta."

"Sorry to say I can't say the same for you."

"I see you still aren't the most polite young lady. We'll have to work on that."

"You aren't working on anything that has to do with me!" Tseng slapped her hard across the face.

"Let me reword that. If you aren't polite, I'll teach you." The sarcasm was gone from his voice and replaced by all seriousness.

"Let go of my hair, Tseng." He did. After less than a minute, he slapped her hard again, causing her lip to bleed.

"You didn't say thank you."

"Oh, sorry," she muttered. This time she received a kick to the stomach.

"What do you say?" Litta refused to thank any Turk for anything. He threw her into a tree. She started to get up when she felt pressure on her back from his knee, forcing her back down. "Tell me thank you."

"No." Blood squirt from her lip as she said the word.

"Tell me."

"NO!" More blood. He grabbed her head and rammed it into a tree.

"I'll only ask you once more." She relented.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Her lip was bleeding freely now, but Tseng seemed satisfied. He pulled his knee off and pulled her up, although a bit roughly. When she stood up, she seemed to have lost her sense of up from down. She started to fall forward, and Tseng let her fall.

"Get up," he commanded. She stood up. Where she found the strength to walk, she didn't know, but somehow she made it to Shin-Ra. She wasn't sure if she was considered to be in one piece.

When they reached Rufus' office, she stumbled a few times on the stairs. When they made it up, Danis had just finishing talking to Rufus. She walked down the stairs, and Rufus turned his attention to Tseng.

"I wondered why you were so eager to get Danis for me, but I can see now."

"She was giving me some trouble, so I stopped her, that's all." Litta stood next to Tseng, her lip still bleeding.

"Did she mouth off to you, or was that your personal touch?" Tseng said nothing. "I think that will do. Set her in that chair and go back to work. You will be accompanying Danis on her next mission." Tseng nodded. He put Litta in a chair and left to find Danis.

"I apologize for Tseng's behavior. He can get carried away at times." Litta said nothing. She was afraid that if she did, she would spit blood all over Rufus. "Hmmm. Well, I think we'll need to heal you up befo-"

"No!" She couldn't stop from saying it, but she didn't spit any blood.

"No? Don't you want to be healed? Do you want to stay bruised from Tseng's treatment of you?"

"You know as well as I that I can't be healed with magic." Her lip began to bleed badly again.

"Oh, so you know about that?" She would have said something, but her lip prevented her from doing so. "Since you seem to have nothing to say, Reno will take you to your room." Reno led her to a cell and healed her the minute she reached the bed. After he left she screamed out in pain. She lay on her cot all day, as the pain gradually lessened.

They reached a clearing and saw some signs of a struggle.

"Cloud, over here," Vincent called. Cloud looked where Vincent was pointing. "There's blood on this tree, and it's fairly recent."

"You think it's Litta's?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. A Turk is probably with her."

"Either Reno or Tseng. They're the only ones I know of that don't care how much they hurt a person."

"Someone ran before this though. There are footprints in that direction, away from where this blood is."

"We have to keep moving." Vincent nodded. They grabbed Squall and started off again. When they were getting ready to enter Shin-Ra, they heard someone scream. It was a female scream. Everyone was thinking the same thing: Litta.

"So what now?" Squall asked. Vincent looked at Cloud.

"Have I been elected leader all of a sudden?" No one answered, so he assumed that meant yes. "We need to get her out, but we have to be careful. We want to avoid being detected this time. They have a new Turk, and she was specially trained by Tseng."

"How do you know that?"

"I was there for two years. They let her work on me once, trying to get me to talk. She can be pretty brutal. I want to avoid her."

"Is she the replacement for Elena?" Vincent asked.

"Who knows? It wouldn't take much to replace Elena though." Vincent smiled. They agreed to wait until dark, and then sneak inside.

"Still on that cot?" It was Tseng.

"I thought you were on a mission with Danis."

"I was replaced by Reno, much to the displeasure of Danis."

"Why?"

"That's Turk business."

"What do you want?" She was glad her pain was just about gone.

"I see I didn't teach you much about being polite. Maybe I should schedule you for another lesson." Rufus picked that moment to enter Litta's room.

"I thought you were going to give her her dinner Tseng?"

"Sorry Sir. Just-"

"Can you not see that this girl is actually scared of you?"

"For good reason too."

"That is not the point Tseng. Get back to work." Tseng looked disappointed, but left without a word. "Again I apologize for Tseng." _Why is he being so nice? Is he trying to catch me off guard? Well if he is, I won't let him. I'll play along and then see what information I can get out of him._ She suddenly realized she had no idea what Rufus was saying. "…if you promise not to run away."

"Sorry, what?"

"Did you not hear me?"

"I'm afraid I didn't."

"I said I would move you into a room that's inaccessible to Tseng if you promised not to run away." She wasn't sure she had heard him right. _A room inaccessible to Tseng? What is he after? Does he think he can get information out of me by offering me an escape from Tseng?_

"I can't promise you that, so I'll have to pass."

"I see. Perhaps you'll talk for other offers." He was obviously thinking aloud, so Litta decided not to interrupt. "Follow me please." It was an order. Even with his polite way of saying it she knew. She followed him into the lab. _Not again._ Rufus continued walking though.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere a little more private." _That can't be good. Maybe I should try to get away. He doesn't seem to be paying attention._ But before she could, a door shut behind her and she was in another lab.

"What is this place?"

"It's for some of my more...dangerous experiments."

"What do you mean dangerous?"

"Oh, different sorts of things. You'll soon find out. Please stand by that table over there." She had no choice but to do as she was told. Again she was placed on a table, waiting for what would happen next. Suddenly the door was broken down and Vincent came in.

"What are you doing Rufus?" he asked.

"No hello Vincent?"

"I asked you a question."

"I see then. What does it look like I'm doing Vincent? Don't you recognize this room? the equipment? the procedure?" Vincent was getting angry.

"Let her go."

"I need to see if the experiment still works. You remember what it was like when you were in here with Hojo, don't you?" That seemed to do it. Vincent doubled over in pain. He seemed to be mumbling to himself, and Litta noticed he was changing again.

"Rufus, what did you do?" Litta asked. She was actually afraid of what was happening to Vincent. Then she realized she was no longer strapped to the table. She got up immediately.

"I just jogged his memory a little, that's all." Vincent was now fully transformed, and Litta didn't like the look of him.

"You're a fool Rufus," said a voice that didn't belong to Vincent. It was coming from Vincent, but it sounded completely evil. Rufus didn't respond. Litta moved towards the wall until she was as far away from Vincent as she could get.

"Litta, I don't believe you've met Chaos." Litta slowly turned her head from Vincent to Rufus. Litta said nothing, she couldn't find any words. "We did an experiment on Vincent here, and this was the result." At that moment some sounds came from outside the room. Cloud and Squall came in, but stopped when they saw Vincent.

"What did you do Rufus?" Cloud asked.

"I just mentioned past events, that's all."

"Litta, get over here now," Cloud ordered her. She didn't respond immediately.

"I can't," she said at last.

"Squall and I can hold Vincent back if we need to, but we have to leave now." Litta began slowly moving towards Cloud, staying along the wall. Chaos turned his attention to her. Rufus took that moment to run across the room. He made it out, pushing Cloud and Squall out with him.

"Where do you think you're going Rufus?" Cloud questioned.

"Oh nowhere, just like you." Rufus shut the door and sealed it. He had trapped Litta inside with Chaos.

"Open the door!" Cloud and Squall shouted at the same time.

"I'm afraid not," he said even after they had pulled their blades out. "You really don't need those." Tseng had come up behind Squall and now put a gun to his head.

"Both of you drop your swords or I shoot him." They put their swords down.

"Good," Rufus said. "If you'll excuse me now gentlemen, I-"

"Where do you think you're off to?" Squall asked. "Unlock that door this instant!"

"Why?"

"Are you actually going to leave Litta in there with Chaos?"

"That's where I'm going." Squall was confused but kept talking.

"How can you just keep her in there? Don't you have a conscience?"

"I guess I was born without one." Cloud suddenly understood. _He's trying to stall him. If I could reach my sword..._ He began slowly moving toward his sword, while Squall continued arguing with Rufus. Tseng had his attention on Squall, so Cloud wasn't being watched.

"Cloud, Squall!" Litta yelled, but the door didn't open. She had moved over to the door slowly, aware she was trapped with Chaos. He watched her every move and followed her with his eyes. He hadn't moved or spoken since the door closed.

Litta turned back to Chaos. _What do I do? I can't hurt him, Vincent is still in there. But what if he attacks me? Do I fight back?_ She was still thinking when Chaos moved.

"What are you doing?" No answer. "Please, Vincent, I don't want to hurt you." He stopped for a second, as if questioning himself, then kept moving towards her.

Suddenly he leapt towards her. She moved away from the door and ran across the room. He turned and came after her again. She moved, but this time kicked the operating table into his path. He didn't move in time and it knocked him against the wall. He didn't move, so Litta slowly got up. She walked towards him, not sure what to do. When she got close, she studied him for a bit. Then he came to life and sprang straight at her. She moved to the side to avoid being hit. He landed and came at her again. She ran to the other side of the room, diving behind the control panel and the computer. She heard him walking around, and he eventually came to where she was. She tried to jump back over when he leapt towards her, but he caught her leg just before it went over.

"Let me go!" she screamed. It did no good, she couldn't get away.

Cloud reached his sword and quickly held it to Tseng's throat. "Put down your gun."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll kill you." Tseng knew he was serious, so he put down his gun. "Good. Squall, watch Tseng while I deal with Rufus." Squall picked up his blade and Tseng's gun.

"What are you planning to do Cloud?" Rufus didn't seem worried at all.

"I want you to open that door."

"I wondered if that was what you wanted."

"Then do it."

"I'm afraid I don't know the password."

"Yes you do."

"Only Sans does. I have them in my computer of course, but I don't know then off the top of my head."

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie?" Cloud didn't know what to do. _He's got to be lying, but what if he isn't?_

"Call Sans in here then."

"I'm afraid Sans took the day off. I could go to my computer and-"

"No. If you want to do it this way, fine. Send Tseng to get them though. Squall, go with him." Squall left with Tseng to get the password. When they came back, Tseng gave it to Rufus.

"Thank you Tseng."

"Now open the door Rufus." Once it was opened, Squall ran into the room. He came out again dragging Vincent behind him and carrying Litta over one shoulder.

"They're both unconscious," he told Cloud.

"We'll be leaving you now Rufus." He cast sleep on each of them, and anyone else they met along the way.

"Where are we going Cloud?"

"I don't know. Just away from here right now." Cloud took Vincent from Squall, and they said no more. They stopped to rest when they were a ways into the forest.

"How's Vincent doing?" Squall asked.

"He's starting to wake up." At that moment Vincent sat up as Litta woke up.

"What happened?" he asked. He looked at Litta and realized what he had done. Litta looked at Squall.

"Why did you guys shut the door on me?" She was avoiding Vincent; still not sure of what had happened with him.

"Rufus locked it," Cloud answered simply.

"If we had had the password, we would have opened the door sooner," Squall told her.

"What happened with Rufus?"

"He had the password in his office," Cloud explained. "We had to get it before we could open the door. What happened with you?" She realized she was sore all over, from fighting with Vincent. _Or was it Vincent?_ she wondered.

"Shouldn't we keep moving Cloud?" Squall asked. Cloud thought for a second.

"Maybe. Vincent, are you ready to keep moving?" Vincent nodded and stood up. "Litta?"

"I..." She tried to get up, but her arms wouldn't hold her up long enough.

"Don't think so," Squall finished for her. He went over and gently picked her up. Vincent and Cloud remained silent. "Where to Cloud?"

"I think we should head to Midgar," Vincent suggested. "They rebuilt a town over the remains," he added when he saw the look on Cloud's face.

"How long ago was that built?" Cloud asked.

"About two years ago." Cloud nodded. They set off towards Midgar and reached it in about two hours. They checked into a hotel and went to bed hoping to get some sleep. Litta woke up in the middle of the night.

She sat up for a while, still very sore. _It was the same dream about Cloud, but how is that possible?_ At that moment, Cloud opened her door. He came in when he saw her sitting up.

"You're up! I thought you'd be asleep."

"I woke up."

"Any reason in particular?" _Should I tell him?_

"Yes," she said slowly. "I had a dream about you, one I've had before."

"What was it about?" She told him. "Have you had any other dreams?" She told him all the dreams she could remember.

"What do you know about me Cloud?"

"I only know so much. The rest is speculation and rumors."

"Then tell me what you know." _That's easier said than done,_ he thought. _Where do I start?_

"Are you sure you want to hear everything right now?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"There are some things you might not understand."

"Just explain it to me then. I have been wandering around since I was 15, without any clues to my past. You are the only one, besides Sephiroth, that knows what happened to me. I have seen glimpses of my past through some dreams and heard bits from different people, but not enough. You are the only one that can fill in the blanks in my life."

"I realize you want to know about your life, but there are still some blanks I can't fill in just yet."

"Then tell me some of the ones you do know."

"Anything in particular?" She thought for a moment. _There are so many questions I want to ask._

"Who was my mother?"

"I don't know that yet. I was hoping to-" Before he could finish the sentence, Litta's door opened and Sephiroth walked in.

"Hello Litta, Cloud."

"What are you doing here Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"I should ask you the same question. Are you planning to kill my daughter the same way you did me?"

"I have no intention of hurting Litta."

"Really? Is that why you're in her room in the middle of the night?"

"I came in here to talk to her."

"I was asking him questions about my mother," Litta put in.

"You can come to me with questions about your past."

"Even my mother?"

"I think that is a bit of a sensitive area concerning Cloud. Perhaps we had better discuss this privately."

"Why is that a sensitive area?" Cloud asked.

"Her mother was someone you knew, a good friend of yours."

"Who?"

"Aeris." Cloud stood stock still. That's _not possible. I saw you kill her._

"Who is Aeris?" Litta asked. Before anyone could respond, Vincent came in.

"I think I'll take my leave now." Sephiroth walked out the door, leaving everyone in a stunned silence. Vincent spoke first.

"What was Sephiroth doing here?" Cloud told him what was said. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

"I don't know, and there's not a lot of ways we can find out."

"There's one way."

"No. We'll find another way, but I think we should go back to bed for now." Vincent nodded, so they left Litta in her room.

_How can you find out? Why won't they tell me? Maybe it has to do with Sephiroth, or Shin-Ra. If I went to Shin-Ra, they won't kill me and I might be able to get the information. If I could sneak in unnoticed I wouldn't even have to worry about the Turks._

She got up, slowly, and grabbed her guns. She almost healed herself, but stopped when she realized what she was doing. She silently walked past the other rooms and out the door. She headed back in the direction of Shin-Ra. It was still very early in the morning when she arrived, so she didn't meet anyone on the way up. She reached the seventieth floor and sat down at the computer. Rufus had already logged on, but apparently forgot to sign out. She took another look around but saw no one. _At least I'm safe for now._

She turned her attention to the computer screen. There were different files she could open such as: Experiments, Specimens, Turks, etc. She clicked on the link labeled "DNA". Within that folder there were about fifty files. She looked through them and found one with her name. She opened it:

Litta, last name unknown:

Father: Sephiroth

Biological Mother: Aeris Gainsborough

Foster Mother: unknown

DNA Transfer: Aeris Gainsborough's DNA was taken along with Sephiroth's to create Litta; Hojo performed experiment

At the bottom of the screen there was another link. It was labeled "History". She moved the mouse and was ready to click on it.

"I don't remember giving you permission to use my computer." Rufus turned it off.

"That was my history. I have a right to know about my past."

"True, but without the assistance of my computer."

"Fine, I'll leave you with your computer then."

"I don't think you'll be leaving, but I'll make you a deal." Litta was suspicious. She didn't have a choice though, because Tseng had come up behind her and had a gun in her back.

"What kind of deal?"

"If you become a Turk and work for me, I'll keep the Turks away from your friends. If you do a good job I might even give you some information about your past." Litta though about this. _Everyone would be safe. They could stop worrying about me, and I would be safe from Vincent. I might even find out about my past._

"What would I be doing if I agreed?" She wanted to make it clear that she wasn't agreeing quite yet.

"Just a few odd jobs. Nothing horrible."

"How long would I have to work for you?"

"As long as you want your friends to stay safe and an easy way to get information about your past. Are you interested?"

"How long is this offer good for?"

"The next five minutes."

"Would I have time to tell the others what I'm doing?"

"No, if you do I will kill your friends. You have to give me your answer now, and if you accept you start right away." She thought for another minute before she answered. _I can always leave later on, but for now Squall and the others would be safe._

"Okay. I'll work for you."


	4. A New Career

**Chapter 4**

When Cloud and Vincent returned to their room, Squall was still asleep. They decided to try to sleep for the rest of the night. Vincent had planned on talking to Litta that night about Chaos, but decided it could wait until morning. Squall was the first to wake up, and decided to check on Litta. He found her room empty so went to wake up Cloud and Vincent.

"She's gone! She left again, in the middle of the night!" They went back to check her room.

"I hope she doesn't make a habit of this," Cloud thought aloud.

"Where would she go? Why would she leave?" Squall asked.

"Perhaps, Cloud," Vincent said, "she went to find out about her mother." Cloud thought about this, while Squall continued talking to himself.

"Would she have gone to Shin-Ra?" Cloud asked Vincent.

"I think she might have, but maybe this time we should let her try things on her own. She is probably tired of us running after her."

"You could be right. My concern is what Rufus will do when he finds her. He is a smooth talker, and Litta is very confused right now. He might be able to convince her to believe anything he says."

"Why don't we give her a day or two, and see what happens."

"All right, but what about Squall? He seems to be a little frantic whenever she goes missing or gets hurt. Will he agree to not go after her?"

"I think we can make him see reason." Cloud walked over to Squall while Vincent stood to the side.

"Squall, calm down."

"Calm down! Litta is missing!"

"I know that Squall, but I think she needs some time to herself right now. She needs to sort out the information she has and decide what to do with it."

"So you're just going to leave her out there on her own? What if she gets hurt? She can't heal herself!"

"She'll be fine, you've said so before. Just give her a day or two. After that we'll see what we want to do." Squall calmed down a bit, but still seemed to be against the idea.

"Do you really think she'll be all right?"

"I'm sure of it. Are you ready to come with me and Vincent now?"

"Where are we going?" Cloud hadn't actually talked with Vincent about going anywhere, so he didn't know. He motioned for Vincent to come join them.

"Nice to see you sane again Squall."

"Where were you and Cloud planning to go?" he asked. Vincent looked to Cloud.

"I don't know," Vincent said.

"I think we ought to visit some of our old friends Vincent," Cloud suggested.

"Who did you have in mind?"

"Red XIII."

"Any reason for wanting to see him?"

"I thought he might be able to answer some questions we have about someone." Vincent knew who and what questions he was talking about. Squall had no idea but remained silent. He was still thinking about Litta as he followed them to Cosmo Canyon.

Tseng had taken Litta to her room. She was expecting a cell, but apparently Turks got nicer rooms. _I should have known that,_ she thought. He room was on a different floor, and it was nicer than the cells. It was still plain, but better. It was behind another room, which she was told was her new office.

"Rufus needs to talk to me, so I'll leave you to make yourself at home." Tseng was curt, but polite. _He didn't seem angry; maybe I'll be able to get along with him. Or at least avoid getting on his bad side._ A few minutes later, Tseng came back in.

"I thought you left."

"Rufus needs to see you." She followed him back up to see Rufus.

"Litta, I have an assignment for you."

"Already?" _It's only 5:30 in the morning._

"Yes. Tseng will fill you in on the way. That's all." Litta left with Tseng. When they were outside, Tseng began filling her in.

"We're heading to Cosmo Canyon. We're going there to talk to someone named Red XIII. We are going to ask him some questions concerning Sephiroth."

"What if he doesn't talk?"

"Then you get to break in your guns." She fell silent after that. _So my first mission is to find out information about Sephiroth. But if this Red XIII doesn't talk, I have to kill him. I hope it doesn't come to that._ "Don't worry, you'll do just fine." She looked up at Tseng.

"Do you do these sorts of missions a lot?"

"Yes. Rufus likes to know what's going on. So if someone knows more than he does, the Turks get sent to get the information and dispose of the body afterwards."

"How long have you been a Turk?"

"A while. Since you seem so interested in asking questions, I think it's only fair you answer some of mine."

"I guess." _What kind of questions?_

"For starters, how old are you?"

"You don't know that?"

"Rufus doesn't tell us everything."

"I'm nineteen."

"Okay, next questions. What kind of weapon do you enjoy using?" _What kind of a question is that?_

"I use guns and a blade. That's what I'm good with."

"I see the one gun, but where's the other?" She lifted up her pant leg a little so he could see the gun strapped to her ankle. "Very nice."

"So how far is Cosmo Canyon?"

"We're almost there." Almost there turned out to be another hour. They walked the rest of the way there in silence.

When they arrived, Litta followed Tseng. He led them up to the top of a cliff, where there was a big house. They walked inside and found Red XIII sitting in a chair.

"What are you doing here Tseng?"

"No hello, or nice to see you?" Red XIII said nothing. "Fine. I'm here to ask you some questions about Sephiroth."

"He's alive again."

"I know that."

"What else do you know?"

"I'm here to ask you the question, so start telling me what you know."

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend? You do still have manners, don't you?"

"My name isn't important. What you know about Sephiroth is," Litta put in.

"You've trained her well, Tseng."

"I never trained her. There wasn't any need."

"I see. Well I have no information for you. I already told you what I know."

"Haven't you talked to anyone, one of your friends?" Tseng inquired.

"I'm afraid not. If that's all you came for, you can show yourself out."

"If that's all you know, I don't believe you. If you are lying, then I still don't believe you. Either way, I think out job here is done. Litta?" He turned towards her and nodded at her gun. She drew out her gun and fired a few shots at Red XIII. Tseng checked him out.

"Is he dead?"

"Yes. We should leave before anyone comes up and finds him." They made their way back down and headed towards Shin-Ra. "You did well."

"I hardly did anything."

"But you didn't argue when I told you to fire. Rufus will be pleased." Litta nodded. They reached Shin-Ra, and Litta went to her room. _Wait,_ she thought, _where's my necklace?_

Cloud was the first to enter the house. _Something's not right._ He went around the table and found Red XIII on the ground. He had been shot several times. Vincent came up behind Cloud.

"It had to be a Turk," Vincent commented.

"But who? And why?"

"I don't know. We might be too late." Cloud didn't want to hear that.

"No. He can't be dead. It's not possible. I'll kill Rufus for this, and whoever else was involved." Vincent turned around and saw Squall holding something in his hand.

"What's that Squall?" he asked.

"It's Litta's necklace." Cloud turned around. "I found it here by the door."

"Why would she have been here?" Cloud asked.

"We don't know that she was," Vincent told them. "I think we need to pay a visit to Rufus." They agreed and left, but not until they had placed Red XIII alongside his father.

"It's where he belongs," Cloud muttered. They reached Shin-Ra in a short time, and went straight to Rufus' office.

"Cloud, Vincent, Squall. Is there a problem?"

"You know what happened to Red XIII and I want to know," Cloud demanded.

"I'm afraid that's Turk business."

"Then tell me what Litta was doing there."

"That's also Turk business."

"Litta isn't a Turk," Squall pointed out.

"Litta is no longer a concern of yours. I suggest you leave before I call in one of my Turks."

"We aren't going anywhere. So if you want to stay in one piece, I think you ought to start talking."

"Do you know how many threats I've had in my lifetime? Enough to make me not consider them a real threat. Cloud, if you want to know what happened to Red XIII, talk to Tseng. Now if you don't mind, I would enjoy some privacy so please leave." Cloud left to find Tseng and the others followed him. He spotted Tseng on another floor, half way through a door.

"Tseng!" Cloud shouted. Tseng turned around.

"How nice to see you again Cloud." He shut the door. "What brings you here?"

"What happened to Red XIII?"

"Oh that. We were sent on a mission to get some information out of him and then kill him."

"You and who else?"

"Another Turk."

"Which one?"

"A new Turk. You wouldn't know her."

"What information did you want out of Red XIII?" Vincent asked.

"Information on Sephiroth. He didn't have any, so it was an easy assignment."

"Why would you kill him? He wasn't bothering you. We haven't even talked to him in a few years."

"That's not the point. He had information, we wanted it. It wasn't what we wanted so we got rid of him. Even if he wasn't a problem now, we didn't want to leave open the possibility that he might become one later."

"Tseng, did you shoot him?"

"No."

"Then who was your partner? I want to kill her with my own hands."

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Whose room is this?" Squall asked.

"That's none of your business." Squall, instead of responding, just pushed Tseng aside and walked in. Litta happened to be sitting at her computer and turned around expecting it to be Tseng. She stood up when she saw Squall.

"What are you doing here Litta?"

"What are you doing here Squall?"

"I think it's obvious why I'm here, so answer my question." _What should I say? I can't tell him I'm a Turk or he'll die, but then what do I say?_

"I was trying to research my history on this computer, but since you're here I guess they know about me." _That doesn't make a whole lot of sense,_ Squall thought, _and yet Tseng was coming in here. But then why did she take so long to answer? Something's not right._

"Well we're going now." He moved to leave the room, but Litta didn't. "Come on, I said we're leaving." She said nothing. "Do you want us to leave without you?" At that moment Tseng came in.

"She won't be going anywhere." He put a gun to her head.

"Let her go Tseng," Squall told him.

"I don't think so. Rufus has some unfinished business with her."

"And what would that be?"

"That would be none of your business."

"I think it is my business."

"And why is that?"

"Litta belongs with her friends, not Turks. All you do is hurt people." _That isn't completely true Squall,_ Litta thought.

"I think we ought to leave the decision up to Litta. You can go with them, but I can't be held responsible if something bad happens, or you can stay with us, where I can make sure your friends are safe."

"That's an easy choice. Come on Litta." Squall held the door open for her. "Aren't you coming?" There was a trace of hurt in his voice.

"I...can't. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"We can protect ourselves from Turks, we've done it before. You don't have to worry about us."

"I'm sorry Squall, but I don't want to be responsible for you getting hurt. Just leave while you can." Squall hid his hurt quickly, but not before Tseng noticed it.

"Fine." Squall turned and got ready to walk out the door. Before he was out all the way, he changed his mind and walked back in.

"Forget something?" Tseng asked.

"I'm not going to let you run Litta's life." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out with him. Cloud and Vincent had remained outside during this time. Cloud now led the way to the stairs.

"What's wrong with the elevators?" Squall asked.

"It will be easier to avoid Turks if we take the stairs," Cloud told him. No one argued.

"Squall, let go of my wrist." Squall realized he had been holding it since he took her from Tseng upstairs.

"Sorry." He let go.

"Why did you take me from up there?" _Now you're all in more danger than if you had left me with Tseng. Hopefully I'll be able to get away and keep you safe._

"Aren't you glad to be away from Tseng?"

"That's not what I asked you."

"I thought you'd be happy to be away from him. Would you like me to take you back up to him?" He seemed to be a little angry.

"No, it's just-" At that moment, the door next to them opened and Tseng came out. The door had swung open right into Squall and Litta, knocking them off balance. Squall went tumbling down the stairs. Litta would have followed except Tseng caught her before she fell.

"Looks to me Squall like you need to work on your balance." Squall was standing by now, and wasn't in a good mood.

"I have plenty of balance Tseng. I just can't predict when doors will suddenly swing open."

"That would be my fault, but I can't say I'm sorry about it."

"Of course you can't. You're a Turk. Your goal in life is to inflict damage upon others."

"That's not entirely true. There is occasional paperwork involved, but it rarely gets done."

"Or you bring in people so you can experiment on them."

"One of the few perks of the job."

"Well I'm afraid I won't allow you to inflict any pain on Litta, so would you mind letting her go?" Litta suddenly became aware that Tseng was still holding her.

"If I do that she might get away, and I can't have that."

"I thought you were going to let her decide which group she wanted to be with."

"I did. She chose to stay with me. If you remember, it was you who grabbed her arm and pulled her away."

"It doesn't matter, she belongs with us. Now let her go."

"I don't think so."

"Now!" Instead of continuing the argument, Tseng calmly walked back through the door with Litta. He shut and locked the door behind him.

"It's a good thing I saved you, or you might have told them what you were really doing here."

"Yeah. You can let go of me now, I'm not going to run away." Tseng released his grip around her waist. "Thanks."

"No problem. We wouldn't want our newest Turk falling down a flight of steps." Litta returned his smile.

"Thank you also for not shooting anyone."

"Since you didn't tell them about becoming a Turk, you're friends are supposed to stay safe. Rufus wants to talk to you about your last mission."

"Right now?"

"Yes." Litta nodded and headed back up to see Rufus.

"Squall, we have to let her go for now," Cloud told him. Squall had been reduced to banging against the door, trying to get it open. "We can come back for her another time."

"How do we know nothing will happen to her? Something did not seem right. She decided to stay with Tseng instead of coming with me."

"Is that all she said?"

"Well she said she didn't want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt. Ow!" Squall had finally made a dent in the door, but his shoulder was in a lot of pain.

"Just leave her here for now then. We have to keep going." Squall gave up on the door and they continued down the stairs. When they were back in their hotel in Midgar, Squall locked himself in his room.

"What is with him?" Cloud asked.

"Can't you guess?" Vincent smiled.

"I wondered. Does Litta know?"

"You know Squall better than that. He doesn't share his feelings willingly or often." Cloud nodded.

"So what do you think happened between Litta and the Turks?"

"I've been wondering about that, and haven't yet come up with an answer. Any number of things could have happened, but none seem to fit."

"I know what you mean. For now, I think we need to keep Squall away from her. I don't want to give him a chance to do anything rash." Vincent agreed.

"I'll see if I can find out anything while you keep an eye on Squall."

"I thought you'd say that. We'll be here when you come back, hopefully with information." Vincent left and Cloud went to see how Squall was doing. He was shocked to find the window open and the room empty.

_Great, now what am I going to do? I told Vincent to meet us here, but I can't let Squall go after Litta. I know that's where he went; there isn't anywhere else he would go. I guess I don't have a choice._ He grabbed his sword and left the hotel.

"Tseng said you wanted to talk to me about the mission?"

"Yes," Rufus said calmly. "Tell me what happened." She told him about what was said and what she did. "So you didn't argue when Tseng told you to shoot." It wasn't a question, but Litta answered anyway.

"No."

"Did you hesitate?"

"No."

"I have another assignment for you. You will be with Reno this time. Tseng has other duties he has to tend to." Reno came up at that moment and Litta followed him out.

"Where are we going?"

"Wutai." _Please not Yuffie,_ Litta thought. "We have to eliminate someone that's getting in our way."

"Who is it?"

"Someone by the name of Yuffie." _No. I can't kill her. Maybe I won't have to._

"Are we only going to kill her?"

"There may be ways of avoiding that, but I know her personally. She won't cooperate."

"I'm sure there are ways of making everyone cooperate, even her."

"We'll see." They continued on their way, unaware of anyone listening.

Squall reached Shin-Ra and saw Litta heading out the door, accompanied by Reno. He followed them without making any noise. He was curious as to where they were going, and why Litta was with Reno.

When he heard about what they were doing, he ran ahead to Wutai. _If I can get there fast enough I can warn Yuffie. Then I'll double back and take Litta. Hopefully she's come to her senses by now. But why didn't she argue when Reno told her they were going to kill Yuffie. But what if,_ he didn't finish the sentence. Instead he ran off towards Wutai. When he reached Yuffie's house he walked right in.

"Yuffie!" She came into the living room.

"Squall! What are you doing here?"

"Reno is coming to kill you!"

"Finally! I've been waiting for a rematch against him for so long!"

"I don't think you want to stay around for this. Just leave now. I'm going back now to deal with him."

"Oh fine." She walked out with him and watched him run off. "You wish I would leave him to you," she muttered. She walked back into her house and waited for Reno to come. She didn't have to wait long.

"You seem to have been expecting us Yuffie," Reno said as he walked in.

"Us?" Reno stepped aside to reveal Litta. "Litta!"

"Yes. She's the newest member of the Turks."

"Litta, what does he mean you're a Turk?"

"That's right, I'm a Turk," she said a bit angrily. _If I sound angry and mean, maybe Reno won't know how I really feel._ "What of it?"

"Don't you know what they do?"

"I know perfectly well what they do. What I don't know is what brings us to you."

"Yuffie," Reno started, "there's been a rumor-"

"You should know better than to believe rumors."

"-that you know information concerning Sephiroth," Reno continued. "Is that true?"

"Maybe. Why do you want to know?"

"We have our reasons. What do you know?"

"I didn't say I knew anything. But let's say I do know something. What are you willing to give me in return for it?"

"Your life."

"I've heard that before. I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."

"I don't need to. And it doesn't matter if you know anything or not, so your life no longer matters. I'm afraid you're only in Shin-Ra's way, so we are going to have to remove you." He turned to Litta. "Do it." Litta froze. _I can't. I can't shoot Yuffie._

"Is it really necessary?"

"I said do it." He was angry, and she knew it. She pulled out her gun, although slowly.

"You don't have to listen to him Litta. Stay with me and you'll never have to deal with this creep again!"

"I'm sorry Yuffie." She aimed and fired. Litta turned around; the look on Yuffie's face was too much.

"Let's go." Litta reluctantly followed Reno out. When they were half way back to Shin-Ra, he backed her up against a tree and pushed his arm against her neck. "What happened back there?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Why did you freeze? Why the apology?" _What do I tell him? I can't tell him she was my friend. Rufus would find out and then what would happen to my other friends? What would happen to Cloud, Vincent, and Squall?_

"Answer me!"

Squall didn't find Reno or Litta. He figured they wouldn't find Yuffie, so he headed back to Midgar. He passed by Shin-Ra, and noticed Reno a little ways off. He was holding his arm to Litta's throat, obviously not letting her breathe. Suddenly he pulled his arm off. Litta slid to the ground gasping for air. Reno kicked her in the stomach and then dragged her up by her hair.

"Tell me what happened!" he screamed at her.

"Let go of my hair!" Reno did, and again she fell to the ground.

"Get up, or I'll do it again for you." Litta got up. "Now tell me why you froze!" She didn't answer right away, so he slapped her across the face.

"Reno, leave her alone!" Squall shouted. He came out from behind the trees and walked over.

"This is Turk business Squall."

"She is not Turk business."

"What Turks do does not concern you."

"She isn't a Turk so she is my concern."

"She is a Turk!" Squall took a step back. "Didn't know that, did you?" Reno was smiling. "But I'll leave you two love birds alone while I go inform Rufus of Litta's mistake." He ran off a little too happy for Squall.

"Litta, are you okay?" She didn't answer. She was curled up in a ball on the ground, shaking. Squall walked over and tilted her head so he could see it. Her eyes were shining with tears, but none had fallen yet.

"No, I'm not." He voice was barely audible.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" She shook her head. _She's obviously not in the mood to talk. I don't blame her. I better get her away from Shin-Ra, before they come looking for her._ He picked her up and carried her back to Midgar.


	5. Lies

**Chapter 5**

When Squall and Litta reached the hotel, Cloud was gone. _He probably went looking for me._ He decided to wait for Cloud, figuring it would be better than leaving Litta alone.

"Why don't you get some sleep. We can talk in the morning." Litta merely shook her head and curled up in a ball. She was asleep within minutes. Squall sat in her room or stood out in the hallway while he waited for Cloud. When Cloud returned an hour later, Vincent wasn't long in returning after him.

"Where did you go?" Cloud asked.

"I went to get Litta."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that. Why are you back so soon?"

"It was easier than I thought. She's sleeping now."

"She's here?"

"Yes. Why did you and Vincent leave?"

"It's a long story," he told Squall.

"I think we should all get some sleep and talk in the morning," Cloud told them. When everyone was settled, Squall went back into Litta's room. She hadn't moved since he left.

_I'll be waiting if any Turks try to get in here. I won't let them mess with her any more._ He stayed awake for about an hour before dozing off. After that, Litta began turning in her sleep.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

_At first, everything was black. Then a light began to shine and Litta saw Sephiroth falling from the sky. He had his sword and put it through a young woman. Cloud was standing there. He caught the woman as she fell. Litta saw him mouth the word "Aeris". Conversations began taking place. Cloud was talking to himself and Sephiroth to himself. Litta couldn't hear what was being said at first, but eventually she began hearing their voices._

"_What about my pain?" Cloud asked himself. He gently placed Aeris on the ground. "My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!" Sephiroth looked at Cloud._

"_What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings too?" Cloud whirled around and faced Sephiroth._

"_Of course! Who do you think I am?" Sephiroth started laughing._

"_Stop acting as if you were sad." He continued laughing. "There's no need to act as though you're angry either." Sephiroth rose into the sky a little. Blackness began veiling the scene. The voices became faint and Litta couldn't hear them anymore._

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Squall was woken up by a loud noise not long after he fell asleep. He looked around and saw that Litta had fallen off the bed. She was awake now and sitting up.

"Litta, are you all right?" She didn't answer. She didn't even move. "Litta? Did you hear me?" Still no movement. He got out of his chair and knelt down by where she was sitting. "What's wrong?" As she turned her head towards him, he saw tears rolling down her face.

"He killed her," was all she said. She put her head on Squall's shoulder and leaned against him. _What do I do? I can't leave her here like this to go get anyone._ He put his arm around her and held her for a while. Eventually she stopped crying. He decided to see if she was ready to talk.

"Litta?" She looked up at him. "Do you want to tell me what your dream was about?" _He wouldn't understand. He probably doesn't even know who Aeris is._

"Have you ever heard of someone named Aeris?"

"Cloud told me a little bit about her."

"When I went to Shin-Ra a while ago, I wanted to find out information about my mother. I found a file on Rufus' computer about my DNA. It said my biological mother was Aeris. I had a foster mother growing up, but my DNA came from Aeris."

"So what does this have to do with your dream?"

"In my dream I saw Sephiroth kill Aeris. Then he started laughing and taunting Cloud. I don't understand how he could be so evil, or how I'm related to him." Squall said nothing. He didn't know what he could say. He just sat there with her until he thought of something.

"I think you should get some sleep. You can ask Cloud about this in the morning." Litta agreed so he put her back in her bed. He then went back to his own bed. _If no one has come to get her yet, they aren't going to tonight. Hopefully she'll sleep and won't have another dream._ Squall stopped thinking about it and went to sleep.

The next morning Litta was up bright and early. Squall was also and decided to see if Cloud was awake. He was, so Squall told him to talk to Litta when he got a chance.

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"She had a dream, and she wants to ask you some questions about it." Cloud entered Litta's room and found her awake.

"I was told you have some questions for me?"

"In a way yes. I'm sure it was Squall who told you to talk to me, right?"

"That's right."

"So I'm sure he also told you that I had a dream." Again Cloud said yes. "Tell me how Aeris died."

"I haven't talked about her in a long time." Cloud took a deep breath. "We were in the City of the Ancients, and she was trying to save the planet. I went to talk to her and Sephiroth came down from above. He put his sword through her and killed her."

"How could Sephiroth do that to her? To anyone?"

"Sephiroth thought he was trying to become one with the planet. He also thought his mother was Jenova."

"But she's not?"

"No. His real mother, his birth mother, is Lucrecia."

"Who's Lucrecia? I've never heard of her."

"That's another story, and a long one I might add. I have a question for you though."

"A question for me? You're the one who's supposed to have all the answers."

"I have a question all the same."

"Ask away."

"Why did you ask about Aeris?"

"I thought Squall told you about my dream?"

"He told me you had a dream, not what it was about."

"Oh. It was a scene that wasn't from my past. It was Aeris dying."

"Is that the only reason you asked about her?"

"No. When I was at Shin-Ra, I looked at my file and saw that Aeris was my real mother. It's her DNA I have."

"I wondered if you had found that out. Can I ask you something else?" Litta nodded. "What is the earliest thing you remember?" She thought for a moment.

"I don't quite, remember it, but I had a dream about my mother dying. Not Aeris, the woman I grew up with."

"What happened in that dream?"

"It was just her in a hospital bed before she died. She wanted to tell me something, but Sephiroth wouldn't let her."

"I know how she died."

"How?"

"She wanted to tell you about Aeris and that she wasn't your real mother, but Sephiroth didn't want you to know. He found out that she was going to tell you anyways, so he poisoned her."

"Even before she died she tried to tell me. But didn't Sephiroth care about her?"

"I don't know."

"Well I want to ask him."

"Are you sure you want to see him again?" She thought a second.

"Yes. I want answers from him."

"I think we ought to head out then. You feel up to that?"

"I'm fine. Are Squall and Vincent up?"

"Squall is, and Vincent probably is by now too." When everyone was ready they headed in the direction of Wutai.

"Why are we going to Wutai?" Litta asked Cloud.

"It's kind of on the way to Nibelheim, which is where I think we'll find Sephiroth." Litta fell to the back of the group, leaving Cloud in the front with Vincent. Squall noticed Litta and fell behind with her.

"You all right?"

"I'm good," she answered quickly. "Why do you ask?"

"You just got quiet and fell behind. I wondered if something was wrong."

"Well, nothing's wrong." Squall shrugged and said no more. When they reached Wutai, Litta thought hard to find a way out. _I can't go in there. I'm the one who killed her. If Cloud finds out, he might never tell me what he knows about my past. I don't want to think about what Vincent will do. And what if someone recognizes me?_ They reached Yuffie's house and Cloud walked in. Vincent followed, but Litta stayed behind.

"Litta, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Squall had stayed behind with her.

"Yeah, I'm just fine," she answered quickly again. Suddenly they heard a scream from within. _Oh no, he found her. Maybe he won't find out I did it._ Squall was starting to lead her in when Cloud and Vincent came out.

"Yuffie's dead!" Cloud shouted.

"But how?" Squall asked. "I warned her and she left. She wasn't supposed to get killed."

"Well she obviously came back," Cloud retorted.

"Don't blame me," Squall said. "I warned her."

"You should have made sure she didn't come back," Cloud said hotly.

"Cloud, calm down," Vincent said quietly. "Accusing each other won't do anything." Cloud appeared to be too angry to be able to listen to reason.

"He was the last one to talk to her before she died. He says he warned her, but it looks to me like she's dead anyways!" No one spoke to Cloud, which made things worse. "So now you can't even defend yourself!" Cloud seemed to be going insane. "First Red XIII and now Yuffie! You'd think the Turks were just killing off my friends now!"

"Squall, why don't you take Litta away while I try to calm Cloud down." Squall nodded and led Litta away. They could hear Cloud screaming in the background.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with this would you?" Litta looked at the ground.

"No. I don't have anything to do with this."

"Look at me and tell me that." She kept her face down.

"I already told you I had nothing to do with it. Isn't that good enough?"

"I want you to look at me." She continued looking at the ground. Squall was fed up. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"I didn't want to," she confessed. "Reno made me. If I hadn't, he would have and I would have been in even bigger trouble."

"Was this your first mission as a Turk?"

"No."

"What was your first mission?"

"It was killing something named Red XIII."

"You killed him!"

"You knew him?"

"Yes, and so did Cloud. He said he'd kill whoever was involved in his death too." Litta almost looked sick for a minute.

"Does he know it was me?"

"No." Squall reached into his pocket and pulled out her necklace. "You left this there though."

"Thank you for bringing it with you."

"You're welcome. I don't think you should tell Cloud what you told me. He might lose his mind and try to kill you."

"I wasn't planning on it." They fell silent for a while and all they could hear was Cloud in the distance, although he had gotten a little quieter. Squall then remembered he still had Litta's book.

"I still have your book. Do you want it back?"

"I don't know. Whenever I've needed it, it was because Sephiroth wanted it. If he asks that again, I don't want to have it on me. I'd have to lie though and I don't want to think about what he'd do if he found out I lied again."

"Good point. Would you like me to still hold on to it for you?"

"No. I'll go ahead and take it." Litta looked around for a second. "I don't hear Cloud anymore, do you?"

"No. I think it's safe to go back now."

"Safe for you," she mumbled.

"I'm not going to tell him if that's what you're afraid of."

"No. I just can't believe I did it. It's like I'm turning into Sephiroth and becoming a heartless killing machine."

"Don't say that. You're nothing like Sephiroth." Litta just followed him back to where they left Cloud and Vincent. Cloud was sitting on the steps to Yuffie's house. Vincent was just coming out of the front door.

"Good, you're back," Vincent said when he saw them approaching.

"Is Cloud okay now?" Squall asked.

"He's a bit calmer, if that's what you mean. He's still upset about it, so try not to bring it up."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Litta said quietly.

"Litta, what happened?" Vincent asked without warning.

"What do you mean?"

"When you were with the Turks? And today," he added.

"Oh, that. Well, I only had two missions," she told him lamely.

"What were those missions?" _Why did he have to ask, she thought, especially with Cloud sitting right there. Could he know?_

"Why don't I tell you about it some other time."

"What's wrong with now?"

"Why are you insisting on knowing this instant?"

"Why are you refusing to tell me?"

"Why are you both speaking to each other in questions?" Squall interrupted. They stopped and looked at each other for a moment. Litta apologized.

"Sorry Vincent. I wasn't trying to be rude." _That's true enough. I just was trying to avoid your question._

"But I do want to know if you had anything to do with Yuffie's death."

"I told Squall and I'm telling you. No, I had nothing to do with this." Vincent didn't seem to believe her, but Squall interrupted again.

"Where are we going now?" Cloud had joined them at this point, so he answered.

"We'll continue on our way to Nibelheim." As they walked, Vincent pulled Litta behind Squall and Cloud.

"What happened?" he asked her.

"You really believe I had something to do with it, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I had nothing to do with her death."

"And you're not lying to me?"

"No." Vincent thought for a minute.

"All right. I believe you, for now."

"Thank you." He stopped talking to her and caught up to Cloud.

_So I'm safe for now. He's still skeptical, but that's because I really am lying to him. But I don't want to upset him. What he doesn't know can't hurt him._ Litta had been concentrating so hard she didn't hear anyone come up behind her. Suddenly something hard was rammed into the back of her head and she blacked out.


	6. Confessions

**Chapter 6**

Litta began to regain consciousness shortly after being knocked out. She slowly realized that she was being dragged behind someone. She moved a little, but the person obviously noticed for she was dropped immediately.

"It's about time you woke up." Litta recognized the voice.

"What do you want, Danis?"

"You know what I want. If you honestly don't then you're even less intelligent than I thought." She gave Litta only a minute to sit on the ground. "Get up." Litta did as she was told.

"Why do you work for Rufus?"

"I'm not in the mood for conversation."

"Do you like taking orders from Rufus?"

"Shut up. My life has nothing to do with you."

"Then tell me why you became a Turk."

"You asked that last time you were in this position."

"You didn't answer me then either."

"If this is the only way to shut you up, then fine. I was seventeen when my house was burned down and my family killed by Sephiroth. I joined the Turks after that in hopes of getting back at Sephiroth. Happy now?"

"So that was two years ago, right?"

"Yes."

"So you lived in Wutai. I was there that night. I talked with Sephiroth after he burned down the town."

"I never saw you. The only people I saw were Tseng and Rude."

"I saw them too. They were told to leave by Rufus before they could bring me with them." While Danis was thinking about this, Litta was thinking of something else. _She could be a big help if I can get her on our side._ "Why don't you join us?"

"What!"

"Join us. We'll help you get Sephiroth. That's who we're trying to find right now. If you helped us-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Danis said. Litta looked confused. "I'm fine being a Turk. I don't need you or your group of 'friends' to get my revenge. I'll find Sephiroth on my own."

"You can't handle Sephiroth on your own. I've tried it." Danis didn't reply. In fact, she hadn't even been listening. She was looking to the side. Litta turned to see what she was staring at. Sephiroth was coming through the forest towards them.

"What are you doing here Sephiroth?" Litta asked.

"No hello?" he asked her.

"Have I ever given you a hello?" Sephiroth made no reply, but turned his attention to Danis.

"I don't ever recall meeting you before," he said to Danis.

"That's because we haven't. You just burned down my house two years ago, killing my family."

"Oh. Am I supposed to apologize then?"

"I don't want to hear an apology. I want to see you dead." She fired some shots at him but none hit.

"You need to work on your aim."

"My aim is just fine."

"Danis," Litta told her, "you can't take him. He's too strong."

"I can take him, and don't think I need your help." She fired some more shots. This time, after they had all missed again, Sephiroth hit her with a lightning bolt.

"You can't aim or dodge, how sad." Danis just glared at Sephiroth. She got back up and fired one more shot. She realized that her gun was empty. "Did you run out of ammo?" Sephiroth was enjoying this.

"I don't need this gun to kill you." She tossed it aside and pulled out another. "I always carry an extra gun in case I need it. Good thing too." Litta watched this, unsure of what to do. She wouldn't help Sephiroth, but she didn't want to help Danis either. After Danis fired some more shots Sephiroth used his magic. None of her shots ever hit him, and he just countered with magic every time. About the third time he used Bolt, she was gone. She collapsed and Litta made her way over to her.

"You didn't kill her yet."

"That wasn't my goal. I just wanted her out of my way. Her bullets were becoming a nuisance." Litta stared at him.

"You really don't care about anyone else, do you?"

"On the contrary, I care a great deal about you."

"Well I'm afraid I don't return the feeling." She hoisted Danis over her shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Away from you. I can't stand being near you!"

"You may not be able to stand me, and yet you become more like me every day."

"That's not true! I'm nothing like you." _I care about people. I don't kill them for no reason._ Sephiroth seemed to read her thoughts.

"If you're thinking you don't kill people for no reason and you think I do, you are mistaken. Did you not kill Red XIII without knowing who he was?"

"That was different."

"Didn't you kill Yuffie, despite the fact she was your friend?" Litta couldn't stand it any more.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" She dropped Danis on the ground with a soft thud.

"I think you are already alone."

"She's not alone!" Squall emerged from the tree he had been hiding behind. "She has friends that stand by her."

"But you have a very specific reason for standing by her, do you not?"

"This isn't about him," Litta said.

"But it involves him," Sephiroth told her.

"It doesn't matter. Why don't you just leave me alone, and my friends, and we'll get along just fine."

"No. You need to come with me and bring that book with you. Since you don't have it though, I'll kindly ask Squall to hand it over." He looked at Squall, turning his back on Litta.

"I'm not giving you the book." _Please don't tell him you have it Litta. That was always your bargaining chip. If you tell him you have it, who knows what he'll do._

"I'll be getting it from you either way, alive or dead."

"Well then, you'll just have to try to kill me since I won't give it to you while I'm alive." He pulled out his sword and Litta got out her gun. Sephiroth made no move.

--------

Cloud had walked with Vincent without saying a thing. After half an hour, they realized that Squall and Litta hadn't been making any noise either. Cloud turned to ask them a question, but stopped when he saw no one behind them.

"Where did they go?" Vincent turned around to look.

"They must have left after I was done talking to Litta."

"What were you talking to her about?"

"Just what she did when she was with the Turks." Cloud asked no more. He knew Vincent better than to give away someone else's information.

"We should head back and look for them. It looks like it's going to rain so we'd better hurry." They began back-tracking their steps.

--------

As Squall and Litta waited for Sephiroth to make the first move, clouds began to move in. Thunder was heard and rain began to fall. At first it was light but then it steadily became heavier. Sephiroth was still standing between them, without any visible weapon. All of a sudden Sephiroth had a sword in his hand. They hadn't seen him pull it out, but then they couldn't see very well with all the rain. _I know that sword,_ Litta thought to herself. _That's the sword he killed Aeris with, masamune. That's what he used against me in my last battle with him._

"I'm sure you recognize this sword, Litta," he spoke to her.

"Less talk and more action Sephiroth. You just confuse people with your words." Litta couldn't wait any longer and fired some shots at him. He dodged and the bullets headed towards Squall.

"Sorry," she yelled, but Squall didn't hear her because lightning cracked right at that moment. It hit a tree close by.

"You need to be careful that you don't hit him," Sephiroth taunted her. _He's trying to get me to attack again. I should have waited, but I know better this time._ Squall chose that moment to launch an attack of his own against Sephiroth.

Sephiroth swung his blade once and blocked Squall. They were fighting too quickly for Litta to get in a good shot. Sephiroth was clearly stronger than Squall, but Squall was quicker. Litta then remember she had magic she could use.

"You're weak," Sephiroth said.

"You're slow," Squall answered back. Sephiroth only laughed. The next moment Squall jumped away from him and wasn't hit by the fire attack from Litta.

"You would hurt your own father?" Sephiroth asked her.

"What kind of a father are you?" She laughed a little. "You leave me for two years then take me away from my friends. You hurt me and now you expect me to keep myself from hurting you?" Sephiroth was still not hurt badly, so he got up and attacked Squall.

"You just don't get it, do you?" he asked Sephiroth.

"Get what?"

"That you won't win." Sephiroth wasn't pleased with that sentence. He put much more energy into the fight and knocked Squall to the ground.

"You said I won't win. I'm telling you that if I lose, you still don't win."

"How do you figure that?"

"By my definition of winning." With that he raised his sword to put his blade through Squall, but he had forgotten about Litta. She had seen him getting ready to kill Squall so she made a dash to where they were. She put herself in front of Squall, between him and Sephiroth's blade.

"Stop!" Sephiroth caught himself just inches away from Litta's chest.

"Move Litta."

"No. I won't let you kill Squall." Squall looked up and saw her in front of him. _Why would she put herself in that position? She could have been killed. She still could be killed._

"I said move. I'm not a patient man."

"So I've noticed, but my answer remains the same. I'm not moving." Sephiroth was clearly not happy with the situation and was considering his next move carefully.

"If you do not move, I will be forced to kill you too." He slowly began raising the sword again.

"Litta," Squall told her, "just move." She looked at him like he'd gone mad. "There's no reason for both of us to be killed, and we can't both get away. Just move." She was still looking at him when Sephiroth decided he had given them enough time.

He wasn't happy about it, but he thrust his sword through Litta and even through Squall. Neither had been expecting it. Squall caught Litta as she fell forward, but could barely hold himself up. Sephiroth was coming to pick up Litta when Cloud and Vincent came into view. Squall couldn't make out much more before he blacked out.

"What did you do Sephiroth?" Cloud screamed. Vincent went straight to Squall and revived him. Squall woke up immediately, but they weren't sure what to do about Litta.

"Aren't you going to heal her Squall?" Sephiroth asked.

"How could you?" Squall stood up faced him. "She was your daughter, your own flesh and blood. How can you ask me if I'm going to heal her, when you just killed her?"

"I'm doing just fine. But if she's so special to you, which I know she is, why haven't you healed her yet?" Cloud could tell Squall was about to burst, so he stepped in.

"Sephiroth, just get out of here. I've beaten you once and I can do it again." Sephiroth stood for a moment then disappeared into the sky.

"What do we do with Litta?" Squall asked. "We have to heal her, but we all know what happens when we do that."

"I don't think we have a choice," Vincent told them. "If we don't, she'll be gone for good." Squall looked back at him.

"Do it." Cloud agreed. Vincent revived her, and she woke up seconds later. She screamed out in pain.

"What...happened?" she gasped. Squall was about to answer her when he noticed Danis stirring a little ways off. He walked over to her and tried to help her up. She shook him off.

"I don't need your help." She stood up on her own. "Where's Sephiroth?"

"He left." Danis swore under her breath. Then she looked over at Litta.

"What's wrong with her?"

"You're a Turk, you should know that."

"I'm sorry that I don't know everything. So is that one of our experiments?" Squall began moving her towards Cloud.

"Yes. If we heal her, her wounds heal but she experiences a great deal of pain." Danis said nothing. "What's your name?"

"Danis." Squall had nothing else to say, so he brought her to Cloud.

"Who's this Squall?"

"This is Danis, she's a Turk. Litta had her after she was knocked out by Sephiroth, and that's when I came." Cloud only nodded.

"I think we should get Litta to a hotel. The nearest town is Balamb." Squall only nodded. _That means we might run into Irvine. I hope we can avoid that._ "Danis, you'll be coming with us for now."

"I don't think so."

"Do you really think you can beat the three of us by yourself?" Danis looked around to Vincent.

"I guess I don't have a choice." She went with them, closely watched by Vincent. Cloud ended up carrying Litta, while Squall led them to Balamb. When they got there, Vincent continued to watch Danis. Cloud was in his own room and Squall was looking after Litta.

"Are you just going to sit and watch me the whole time?" Danis asked Vincent. He made no reply, just continued to watch her. She stood up and began to pace.

_His name is Vincent, and that ex-Turk's name was Vincent. His picture is almost identical to this Vincent. It has to be the same guy. But that also means he's the one Hojo experimented on. I'd better avoid getting on his bad side._ She continued to pace the floor, every once in a while glancing up at Vincent.

"Do you have more than one gun on you?" Vincent asked. He had caught her off guard, causing her to stumble.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Turks usually have more than one weapon on them. I asked if you had more than one gun, if you do, I would like for you to hand them over." _So he expects me to hand over my weapons, leaving me defenseless? I don't think so. _"What did you say?" She had said her last thought out loud without realizing it.

"You don't actually expect me to hand over my weapons, do you?"

"Yes I do. You can hand them over or I'll take them by force." She didn't want to give him an excuse to get angry, so she handed over both her guns and her knife.

"Feel better?" she asked sarcastically.

"I do, but you obviously don't." He sat down again and watched her continue pacing. "Why did you become a Turk?"

"Does everyone suddenly want to know why I joined the Turks or just you freaks?" She hadn't meant to scream at Vincent, but he didn't seem to mind. "I want to kill Sephiroth for killing my family. It's that simple."

"Why did he kill your family?"

"I don't know. It wasn't just my family either. He burnt down my whole town."

"Which town was that?"

"Wutai." Vincent considered this for a minute.

"Did you know someone named Yuffie?" She thought for a minute.

"Yeah, she was always running around the town. A little too energetic for me. Why?"

"Just wondered." She finally got tired of pacing and sat down on her bed. "Did you have anything to do with her death?"

"No. That was Reno and Litta. It was her second job." She wasn't looking at Vincent when she answered, so she missed the look of anger on his face.

"I'm sending Cloud in here to watch you so you won't get away. Do not mention Litta's missions to him. You'll regret it." He got up and left. Cloud came in only seconds after Vincent left.

"What were you talking about that got Vincent so angry?" Danis thought about what she should say.

"Just about being a Turk." Cloud said no more.

--------

Squall had put Litta on her bed and then sat in one of the chairs. He was going to make sure nothing happened to her. _I don't trust Danis. She's a Turk and is supposed to bring Litta to Rufus. I won't let her get near Litta, not after what she's been through with Sephiroth._ He continued to think until Vincent came in.

"I thought you were watching Danis?"

"Cloud's watching her right now. I need to talk to Litta." Litta turned around when she heard her name. She remained in a ball to keep the pain from getting worse.

"Can't this wait Vincent?" Squall asked.

"No. I asked her some questions before concerning Yuffie's death and Litta lied to me. I know she must have told you the truth and that's what I want to hear, the truth." He looked at Litta.

"But she's in a lot of pain right now. Are you sure you can't-"

"I want to talk to her now." Vincent hadn't raised his voice, but Squall stopped arguing. Vincent sat next to Litta on the bed and lowered his voice some. "Squall, would you leave me with Litta?"

"I'd rather not."

"Please." Squall walked out the door and shut it lightly. "Do you still claim that you had nothing to do with Yuffie's death?" She nodded her head yes. "I was talking with Danis and she says that you did."

"You trust her more than me?" The pain was easing up so Litta was able to slowly sit up.

"I don't trust her more, but she is a Turk. She knew what went on at Shin-Ra. She says that you and Reno were the ones who killed Yuffie. Do you deny it?" She sighed.

"No. I did it. I pulled the trigger on the gun and shot Yuffie. I didn't want to tell you because I thought you might tell Cloud. After seeing the way he reacted, I didn't want to know what he would do to me."

"I see what you mean." They heard a knock on the door and Squall came in.

"I see you haven't killed her yet Vincent." Litta laughed with Squall. Vincent made no reaction.

"I'll go take over watching Danis so Cloud doesn't kill her." Vincent left them laughing when he walked out. Once he was gone, they laughed even harder.

"I don't even know why we're laughing. It wasn't that funny," Litta commented. She had to stop though because the pain was coming back. Squall stopped too.

"Did you tell him what happened?"

"I had to. He already knew from what Danis told him."

"What did he say?"

"Not much, like always." Squall laughed again.

"He's not one to say what he's thinking."

"Neither are you," Litta mumbled.

"What?" He hadn't quite heard what she'd said, but he knew she had said something.

"It was nothing." The conversation halted and Squall left.


	7. Switching Sides

**Chapter 7**

Cloud hadn't said much more to Danis when Vincent came back to relieve him.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"You can leave. I'll watch her now." Cloud just shrugged and walked out.

"So where did you go?" Danis questioned.

"I wanted to check out your story, that's all."

"So you talked to Litta?" she asked him. Vincent shook his head.

"Did you talk to Cloud at all?"

"Not really. Just a question and an answer, that's all."

"Is it worth being a Turk?" he asked her suddenly.

"What?"

"Is it worth being a Turk?" Vincent repeated. At first Danis didn't reply. She thought for a minute before she answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Of course I do!"

"Are you happy taking other people's lives?"

"If they deserve it."

"How do you know if they deserve it or not?"

"Rufus tells us."

"And you trust Rufus?" Again she thought about the question.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"It's not wise to answer a question with a question."

"I don't really care."

"I can tell." Danis couldn't reply to that. Instead, she sat on her bed and faced a different direction. She refused to look at Vincent the rest of the time he was in there.

When everyone had gone to bed, she thought about what Vincent had said. _Do I really enjoy this? Always having to be on my guard? Is it worth it? I haven't come any closer to getting Sephiroth. They seem nice, and yet Rufus is after them. But for what? He never said what they did. Well he mentioned Litta. We all know there's something strange about her._ She was still thinking when she heard shouts coming from another room. She got up and ran into Cloud's room, followed by Vincent. Cloud was arguing and fighting with Reno.

"I'm warning you Reno. Get out or I'll kill you!"

"Like you did last time? You didn't kill me then and you won't kill me now." Both turned when the door opened, so they knew who was in there. "Danis, get Vincent's guns." She turned right into the barrel of one of her own guns. Vincent still had them.

"That might be a problem," she said.

"Why is-" he stopped when he saw what happened. "You can't do anything right, can you?"

"No, that would be your department."

"What?" They were concentrating on arguing, so Cloud grabbed Reno's gun and put it to his back. "See what you've done Danis! Now Cloud has my gun!"

"Well if you had been paying attention you might have been able to see him coming!"

"So this is my fault!" Danis didn't reply.

"Enough arguing," Cloud told them. "Reno, hand over any other weapons you have."

"I don't feel like it."

"Now," Cloud told him. Reno ignored him. Cloud had had enough, so he rammed the butt of the gun into Reno's back. Reno bent down in what looked like pain. But then he jumped up and grabbed his gun from Cloud.

"Looks like I have some control again."

"Not quite," Vincent told him. "I still have one of your Turks at my mercy." Reno turned and looked at Danis again.

"Kill her. She wasn't a good Turk anyways." Reno took off out of the room, leaving a confused Cloud and a furious Turk.

"We never got along," she offered. Cloud walked into the hallway and saw Litta's door open. He ran in, but he had already given Reno enough time. Squall was on the floor and Litta was gone. The window was wide open.

"We have to get her back." Squall got up from off the floor.

"We'll have to wait until morning," Cloud said quietly.

"If we wait until morning she'll already be with Rufus!"

"We can't leave now. Get some sleep and we'll leave in the morning." Cloud left Squall in the room. He went back to talk to Vincent.

"He took her?" Cloud nodded.

"What do we do with her?" Cloud asked about Danis.

"We'll take her with us."

"We're leaving in the morning, so get some sleep now." Vincent took Danis back to her room. No one got much sleep the rest of the night.

--------

"Let me go!" Litta tried to break free of Reno's grip.

"Stop squirming." Reno was not in a happy mood. He had had a car waiting outside the hotel, which he was now driving.

"Did you fail your driver's test?" He had almost run them off the side of the road.

"I can drive just fine. I'm just not used to having to keep stupid girls in their seats." He again was pushing her back down in her seat. She had been attempting to climb out the window.

"Maybe if you tried asking politely, a certain girl would listen to you."

"All right, fine. Would you please stay in your seat?" he asked sarcastically. Litta looked as though she were considering it.

"No." And with that she opened the door and rolled out. Reno did an about face and pressed the gas. He was coming straight for her. She had just enough time to see the car coming when it hit her.

"You stupid, disrespectful girl!" Litta was lying on the ground, still conscious. He stuffed her into the back seat of the car and drove to Shin-Ra.

--------

During the night, Danis had been up thinking about things. _Vincent could have killed me. He had the gun to my head. Reno had even told him to, but he didn't. Why would he spare me? _She fell asleep after a while, thoughts like these floating in her head. In the morning, Vincent woke up early. He had been watching Danis for a while, seeing her emotions run across her face. He got up quietly now and headed to Cloud's room.

"You're up." Cloud let him in. "Did Danis give you any trouble?"

"No. She was thinking about some things before she fell asleep, but she didn't say anything. She's still sleeping."

"Do you ever sleep? Do you need to?"

"I had a very long nap in the middle of my life." Cloud laughed.

"So what brought you to my door?"

"I was wondering if you were up. Seeing that you are, I wanted to know how early you wanted to get started."

"I was just figuring on leaving when everyone was up. Was there any time in particular you were hoping to leave at?"

"I was just wondering. That's all." He walked back into Danis' room. She was awake. "Did you sleep well?"

"You could say that." She sat up and looked around. "It's still early, isn't it?"

"Yes. We're going to head to Shin-Ra when Squall gets up." He watched again as she began thinking.

"I see," was all she said. Vincent left her to her thoughts, positive that she would be there when he came back.

Squall was the last to wake up. _I hope Litta's all right. I should have been paying more attention when Reno came in here._ He got up and walked straight to Cloud's room. The door opened before he had even knocked.

"I'm surprised at you Squall. You're the last one to wake up." Squall was shocked.

"It's still early. Are you saying everyone is already up?" Cloud nodded.

"We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"Then let's go." Cloud grabbed Vincent and Danis, while Squall went back for his sword. Once he had it he joined the others. They left at six in the morning.

--------

Litta sat in the back seat, trying not to move and especially trying not to provoke Reno. He was in a bad enough mood as it was. She moved a little to get her arm out from under her. She was beginning to get comfortable when they arrived at Shin-Ra.

"What did you do to her Reno?" She looked up and saw Rufus looking at Reno.

"I got her here, just like you asked." Reno headed towards the door.

"I'm not through talking to you. For now, take her to her room. And I don't mean a cell. I need to discuss some things with her." Reno threw her over his shoulder. He put her on her bed and left without a word. Rufus wasn't long in following him.

"How are you doing?"

"Besides being beat up and hit by a car, I'm doing just fine."

"I'm sorry about Reno's treatment of you. I really expected-"

"I don't really care what you expected. What matters is what happened. And what happened is I got hit by a car."

"Yes, yes. How exactly did that happen?"

"I opened the door and jumped out, trying to get away. He turned the car around and hit the gas. He came straight at me."

"I see." He began pacing around the room, thinking. He cleared his throat when he turned back to her. "I came up here originally to discuss your job as a Turk."

"What of it?"

"I'm wondering if you are now ready to come back to work after that vacation."

"Vacation! You call being kidnapped part of my vacation?" She couldn't keep from laughing.

"I don't find this amusing," he said dryly.

"No, you wouldn't. So what about my being a Turk? Do you think I'm still your employee?"

"I was under that impression. If you are hoping to get out of working for me, you know what that means."

"Oh yes, I'm going to die. Forgive me if I don't take your threat seriously this time." She tried to control her laughter this time when she saw the look on Rufus' face.

"You might die eventually, yes, but your friends would die first." She lost all desire to laugh.

"You could have killed them when they tried to take me away before, but they lived. You could have had Reno kill them when he was getting me, but he didn't. Your threats don't seem to have anything to back them up." She could tell she was getting to Rufus. "I don't plan on ever working for you again," she continued when he remained silent. "And if you think you can kill me, just wait 'till my father hears what you've done. I'm sure you don't want to deal with him." That was the last straw.

"You will work for me again. But just to make sure of it, I'll kill one of your friends right in front of you. And I'll let you pick him out. Perhaps it'll be your closest friend of all. What was his name again?" He thought for a minute and then answered his own question at her door. "Oh yes, Squall." He shut the door before Litta could tackle him. When she hit the door, she fell to the ground even weaker than before. She lay there for a while. She then slowly began making her way back to her bed. When she reached her bed, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

_They were trapped. No way out. The entrance to the cave was sealed off, the avalanche having covered it with a very thick layer of snow._

"_How are we going to get out of this?" Litta asked._

"_How should I know?" Tseng replied._

"_You're the reason we're in this mess," Squall said._

"_That doesn't matter right now," Litta pointed out. "We need to concentrate on finding a way out."_

"_Or at least staying warm," Tseng added._

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Litta woke up feeling strangely cold. _That's strange. It's not actually cold in my room. And yet..._ Tseng chose that moment to walk in.

"Rufus wants to talk with you." He left. She got up and went to see Rufus.

"I was told you wanted to see me." Rufus was standing by the window.

"Yes. I have your next mission ready for you."

"I told you before. I'm not a Turk anymore."

"And I told you that I would kill Squall if you didn't." Litta stopped to think. _He did seem pretty upset when I was talking with him. I wouldn't put it past him to kill Squall. And I don't want Squall to die. Maybe I can just pretend for a while._

"What kind of mission is this?"

"I would like you and Tseng to go to **Yultown**. Sans has been on vacation there, but I need you to bring him back here."

"Why?"

"I need him for some work. That's all."

"When would I be leaving?"

"Right away. You'll need to wear some warmer clothes; the mountains are covered with snow right now."

"Okay. I'll work for you again." She was almost out when he said one more thing.

"Oh, and if I find out you're lying to me, I will kill Squall." Litta knew she had no choice. She had to become a full-fledged Turk again to keep Squall alive. She continued on her way out and bumped into Tseng.

"Ready for your mission?"

"Like you care." She left him standing in the hall before he decided to follow her.

"When you're ready to leave, meet me downstairs in the auto shop." She nodded and shut her door.

_Bring warm clothes he says. He's probably just trying to make me look like an idiot in front of Tseng._ She grabbed a knife in addition to her guns. She headed down to meet Tseng. Tseng led the way, and Litta just followed without thinking.

"Where are we heading again?" She was hoping to find out where they were really headed, believing Rufus lied about the mountains.

"Didn't Rufus tell you that?" _That would explain why she doesn't have a coat or anything,_ he thought. "We're heading into the mountains, which are probably covered in snow."

"So Rufus wasn't lying?"

"No." Litta said nothing but began wondering how she was going to stay warm.

--------

"Where is she Rufus?" Squall demanded.

"Where is who?" This time Cloud answered.

"You know who."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. Nor do I know why you have my Turk," he was referring to Danis.

"You know why we have her," Vincent told him. "You sent her to get Litta, but instead we have her. When Reno took Litta, he didn't care enough about Danis to bother taking her with him."

"Yes. I talked to Reno about that. But since you brought her back to me, I suppose I might be able to give you what little information I have concerning Litta." Squall listened closely. "She's heading to Yultown with Tseng. They left about an hour ago, give or take a few minutes."

"Why is she going there?" Squall asked.

"You'll have to ask Tseng about that." Rufus knew exactly what he was doing. Squall did an about face and marched right out. "I guess she's important to him."

"Shut up Rufus. Since we got what we came for, we'll be going now."

"I don't think so," said Reno. He had his gun in the back of Vincent's head. "Let go of Danis. Good. Danis, get his guns." When Vincent was void of his weapons, he was guarded by Danis while Reno took Cloud away.

"You know what to do with him Danis," Rufus told her. She nodded and took him out.

"I actually thought you were on our side," Vincent told her.

"Ssh. I am on your side. But the less Rufus knows the better. It won't be long before he finds out anyways."

"You can let me-" he stopped himself. If she let him go, Reno would know she wasn't a Turk. "Never mind." She nodded and kept him moving, a little less aggressively.

**Yultown**: another new city built during Litta's absence, such as Maetar


	8. An Awkward Situation

**Chapter 8**

Tseng and Litta had been walking for almost an hour when they hit the mountains. Litta found out that Rufus had been telling her the truth. The mountains were covered in snow, and it was cold.

"So how far is Yultown?"

"We're about forty minutes away. We might have to stop every so often to warm up or let a storm pass."

"Oh." They had only walked for a few minutes when someone came up behind Tseng and hit him on the back of the head.

"How nice to see you Squall."

"Come on Litta, we're going," Squall said. Litta looked from Squall to Tseng. From the look on Tseng's face she knew Rufus had told him what to do if she wasn't a Turk.

"No."

"What?"

"I said no, I'm not going with you." Instead of arguing, he picked her up and put her over his shoulder. "Put me down!" She hit his back with her hands.

"No."

"Do not mess with the Turks Squall," Tseng warned.

"She's not one of you."

"Yes I am, now put me down!" He didn't listen to her or Tseng. He just ran. She could see Tseng running after them. Squall turned around for one second then continued running. He wasn't looking where he was running and he ran into a cave.

"Your trapped Squall, so put me down!" She continued hitting him, but he just shifted her to his other shoulder. She gave up.

"You can't get away from me now Squall." Tseng had followed him in and was now blocking the entrance.

"Move away Tseng."

"You're not in a position to threaten me Squall. Put her down and I won't kill you."

"Listen to me Tseng. I'm not putting her down so you'll just have to deal with it."

"Fine." Tseng pulled out his gun and fired at Squall. He dodged the bullet and jumped to the side. Litta fell off his shoulder and hit the ground, Squall landed on top of her. Then Litta heard something outside the cave entrance. It was a rumbling sound. She looked over and saw a sheet of white outside.

"Tseng you idiot! You caused an avalanche!" Litta screamed. Squall and Tseng both looked outside. Squall glared at him. Tseng said nothing.

"Didn't you realize you could cause an avalanche?" Squall asked. "Who knows how thick that layer of snow is!"

"Squall," Tseng said calmly, "please get off of Litta." Squall looked down.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's fine," she snapped at him. When he started to get up, she pushed him off the rest of the way. "Why did you have to come after me Squall?"

"You'd rather be with him?"

"Answer my question."

"I heard that you were going to Yultown with Tseng."

"Who told you that?"

"Rufus."

"What else did he tell you?"

"Nothing. It wouldn't have mattered though. I was coming after you because I thought you'd be happy to be away from Tseng."

"Well you shouldn't have come." Squall was shocked.

"You heard it from her Squall. She wants to be with people that are like her: Turks."

"She's not a Turk! She can't be!"

"I am Squall. You're just going to have to deal with it."

"But why? They don't care about you. They just care that you get your work done."

"Well because of you Squall," Tseng interrupted, "we're not going to get our job done."

"Who cares about your stupid job. We're stuck in a cave right now, behind a wall of snow because of the bullet you fired."

"I wouldn't have fired my bullet at you and caused the avalanche if you hadn't taken Litta."

"I wouldn't have had to take Litta if Reno hadn't kidnapped her!"

"We wouldn't have had to kidnap her if you hadn't interfered with Turk business and kidnapped her from us."

"I wouldn't have had to kidnap her if you hadn't forced her to become a Turk!"

"ENOUGH!" Litta put herself between Squall and Tseng. "Stop arguing. It's not getting us anywhere. We need to concentrate on getting out of here." Squall headed to the back of the cave, while Tseng headed to the entrance. Squall searched for a way out besides the way in. Tseng tried to find out how thick the layer of snow was.

"There isn't a way out in the back," Squall announced.

"I think we are going to have to wait until this snow melts. I doubt anyone is going to find us, and this snow is pretty thick from what I can tell," Tseng told them.

"How long is that going to take?" Litta asked.

"I'm not sure," Tseng said honestly.

"We can't just sit here and wait," Squall said. He looked to where Litta had been standing, but she had moved to the entrance of the cave. "Litta, what are you doing?"

"I have a knife with me. I'm going to use it to try to dig through this snow."

"Litta, that is going to take you forever," Tseng reasoned.

"Then stop distracting me!" She continued chipping away at the snow, which had now hardened into ice. Squall pulled Tseng over to the side to talk. He lowered his voice so Litta wouldn't be able to hear.

"Why were you bringing her up here?"

"We were assigned to bring someone from Yultown back to Rufus."

"So you expect me to believe that you're up here just because of a job?"

"Whatever you choose to believe is up to you. But I want to ask you something. Why did you think I was bringing Litta up here?" Tseng headed over to where Litta was sitting. Squall stayed where he was. _What did I think? She obviously gets along with him just fine, but she gets along with me too. She can't really like him. Rufus must have told me what he did so I'd get worked up and come after her. I'm such a fool!_

"Litta, aren't you cold yet?" Tseng asked.

"No. Working on the ice is keeping me warm." _That didn't make a whole lot of sense._ "If that makes any sense to you," she added. He just smiled.

"It seems that the doubts Rufus had about you were unnecessary."

"What doubts?" _Just keep it up. With Squall here now, I can't let either know that I'm not a Turk. Squall will die if I let it slip._

"He thought you might be lying about working for him again. Becoming a Turk after your vacation."

"He mentioned that to me too."

"Did he? What did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything. I was already leaving when he said it. What did he tell you?"

"I already told you." _Just not the part when he told me to kill Squall if I found out you were lying about being a Turk,_ he thought.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." She went back to work on the ice for a minute. "I'm gonna stretch my legs a little. I'll leave my knife in case you want to work on the ice." Tseng merely nodded. She headed past Squall, who was sitting against the wall, deeper into the cave. _I wonder how deep it goes. It didn't take Squall long to find there was no way out. Maybe he overlooked something...or maybe he's hoping I'll go with him in the middle of the night when Tseng's asleep._

As she walked, she loaded a gun and put it back. _Just in case._ She reached the back of the cave quickly. She kicked a rock in disgust. She waited, but soon realized she never heard the rock hit the wall. She ran her hand over the bottom of the wall where she thought the rock should have hit.

"There you are," she mumbled to herself. She found a small whole in the wall. Before she could do anything else, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around swiftly and grabbed the person around the neck. She then put her gun to his head.

"Calm down Litta, it's me, Squall." She released him. "What were you thinking or planning?"

"Nothing. What are you doing down here?"

"Just wondering why you were still gone. You had said you wanted to stretch your legs, but there's not much room for that."

"Yes, I see that. Well actually, I can't really see much of anything down here."

"It is pretty dark." For a moment neither said anything. "So, why did you rejoin the Turks?" _I can't risk telling him. Tseng might be nearby._

"That's none of your business." She turned and walked back to the wall of ice. Tseng had begun using her knife to chip away at the ice. He hadn't made much progress. "You haven't made a lot of progress since I left."

"I guess I just don't know how to do it properly. Would you mind teaching me?"

"Not at all. You take your knife or tool in your hand, and hold it like this." She took the knife from his hands and placed it differently. "Now think of the thing that makes you so angry you could kill someone, the thing that makes you angriest."

"Okay."

"Now think about whatever that is and pretend that this ice is what's making you angry. That if you get through and destroy this ice, your problem will be gone." She watched him turn to the ice again. He chipped away at it like she had been before. She left him to work at it for a while. She sat down a little ways away from Tseng, but still farther away from Squall.

"Are you trying to avoid me now?" Squall came over and sat by her.

"No. I'm just sitting here, that's all."

"How did you get Tseng to work like that?"

"I just told him to pretend that the ice was the memory that made him the angriest."

"Oh. What memory was that for you?"

"I have plenty of memories to choose from that make me angry. You know, Sephiroth, Reno, you," Squall couldn't resist.

"Me? Why me?"

"Oh please. You know we didn't get along when we first met."

"We got along okay."

"Right. When I asked you for directions the very first time I met you, you would have rather let me find it on my own. Then," she kept going when Squall began to interrupt, "you never let me defend myself when we were with Zell and Irvine."

"There's more to it than that."

"You never told me what, mind telling me now?"

"No. It's that Irvine obviously liked you and he's a notorious ladies' man. I didn't think you would want to get to know him if you really knew who he was. I just didn't want to see another girl get hurt by him."

"Oh, how sweet," Tseng commented. He continued to work at the ice. He was definitely making progress. Squall ignored him.

"You could have told me that then, so I didn't think you were just being plain rude."

"You thought I was being rude for no reason?"

"I might have..." She let the thought linger, wanting to see Squall's reaction.

"What else have you ever thought about me?"

"I thought you'd never ask. Over the time I've spent with you, and under careful consideration, I find you to be the most rude, obnoxious, self-centered, introverted, chauvinistic example of the male species that I have ever met." She was able to keep her face straight while saying all this.

"Oh really!" He acted offended. Tseng laughed silently.

"Would you like to tell me what you thought of me when we first met?"

"I would indeed. As I have reflected upon the time when we met, I consider you to be an immature, childish, brown-nosing, lying, self-righteous, self-seeking, ignorant girl with no original ideas of her own."

"How dare you," she said indignantly. She made to slap him across the face, and he pretended to cower in fear. As she looked over the see Tseng's reaction, she noticed he seemed, if at all possible, to be working on the ice even more intensely.

"I see you decided not to slap me." Litta turned back around to look into Squall's mocking face.

"You have seen unwisely." She slapped him across the cheek, a little harder than she had meant. _I can't say I'm sorry. Tseng will start catching on._

"When you want to slap someone, you really slap them."

"I didn't mean to slap you that hard. I had only meant to barely hit you."

"That's it. I've had enough." Tseng came over to where they were sitting.

"Tseng, what's wrong?" Litta asked.

"He's just trying to get close to you, and you can't see it. So I'll show it to you." He pulled out his gun. Litta jumped up.

"Don't even think about using that thing Tseng. You'll start another avalanche," Litta told him.

"At this point I don't care how long we're stuck in here. If I can get rid of him, I'll be happy to die in here with you."

"Tseng, you don't want to die in here," Squall told him. "None of us do."

"Shut up or I'll shoot. If you can survive this, then stay away from Litta or you won't survive the next time you meet my gun."

"Tseng, he's not worth it," Litta tried again.

"Oh yes he is." Tseng fired one shot. Litta jerked his gun away while Squall jumped to the side. It was only a few seconds before they heard the rumbling again.

"Tseng!" Litta screamed. There were rocks falling above him. He didn't respond. Instead, he lunged at her and pushed her down. He covered her head. It last about ten minutes, but then it stopped. Tseng slowly got up, then helped her up. She looked around and saw that they were cut off from the entrance to the cave. Her knife was wedged under a rock, but that wasn't the only thing under the debris.

"Squall!" His left leg was under a huge rock. He was still conscious, and in a lot of pain. "Squall, can you hear me?"

"Yea," he said weakly.

"When I lift up this rock, I want you to try to move your leg." She lifted the rock a few inches from the ground. She saw his leg move a little, but not out of the way.

"I can't...move it."

"Tseng, help me."

"No."

"Tseng!"

"You heard me." He moved off to the other end of the cave.

"Fine," she hissed. This time, she scooted the rock instead of lifting it. Squall could still feel the pain, because he yelled out. "Sorry Squall, but I have to get this rock off your leg. This is the only way I can move it."

"Just...do it." They each took a deep breath. She moved the rock the final few inches and it was off his leg. Squall was trying to keep from screaming.

"It's okay. The rock's off your leg. Hopefully we can make you a brace or something to keep it still." Squall only nodded.

"Litta, why are you bothering with him?" Tseng asked her. She ignored him.

"Here," she told Squall. She took off her jean jacket. "Scream into this." He did. The sound was muffled enough that Tseng said nothing. Litta looked around for something to make a brace with.

"Tseng, is there any wood over there?" Tseng was now ignoring her. "And Squall called me childish," she said under her breath. She found one piece of wood, then another. They were a little wet, but they would work. She made her way back to Squall. She formed the wood around his leg, careful not to move it to much. "Can I see my jacket?" she asked. When he handed it to her, she used it to tie the brace together.

"Litta, keep your jacket."

"No. I know you don't have any magic, nor do I. And I won't bother asking Tseng to use his if he has any. This is more important."

"You need to stay warm."

"I am warm. And if I do start getting cold I'll work at getting through this rubble." Squall seemed somewhat satisfied. She carefully moved him away from the fallen rocks. When he was comfortable, she went over to Tseng.

"Is he so important to you that you can't stand to see him hurt?"

"I would do the same for you Tseng, you know that."

"Because it's part of your job."

"No, because I hate seeing people in pain. No matter who they are, I'm going to do what I can to help them."

"You're too good of a person, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're too nice. People will try to take advantage of you for that."

"I won't let people take advantage of me."

"You won't always know when they are." Litta shrugged.

"Oh," she turned back to him. "Thanks for pushing me out of the way earlier."

"Your welcome. Just guaranteeing that the next time I'm hurt you'll return the favor." Litta went back to check on Squall, but he had fallen asleep.

"I wonder what time it is. I forgot my watch when we left," Litta remembered.

"I don't know. I think I'll try to sleep a little though. When you start falling asleep, wake me up and I'll stay up." He leaned back against the wall and was asleep in a few minutes.

"And while you're sleeping, I'll see where that hole leads to." She got up and went back. The avalanche had widened it some, but she still had to squeeze through. When she was on the other side, it was pitch black. She pulled out her knife. It had a hidden flashlight on the end of it.

She looked in all directions, then down. If she had taken one more step forward, it was a long fall. _I'll have to watch where I'm going._ She walked along the edge until she came to a sort of catwalk. It was about two feet wide, so she walked slowly. On the other side she found another cave. The cave only led deeper into the mountain. After taking every passage she found, she knew there was no way out from down here. She quickly made her way back, careful to shut off the light before going back through the hole. When she was back through, Tseng woke up.

"What are you doing over there?"

"Just walking around. Don't worry, I'm fine. Go ahead and go back to sleep." Tseng did as she suggested. She sat back down, but she could feel sleep overwhelming her. She fell asleep ten minutes after Tseng.

Litta woke up somewhat warmer than she had expected. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She noticed Tseng's jacket on her, then an arm around her. She stood up quickly and saw Tseng. He was still sleeping.

"Did you sleep well?" Squall on the other hand was not sleeping. Litta turned towards him.

"It's not what it looks like."

"Oh really. How about you tell me what it is then, and we'll see if it's not what it looks like."

"I don't know why he was next to me. The last thing I remember is telling him to go to sleep. I guess I fell asleep too. But he was sitting over there." She pointed across from her.

"So you have no idea why Tseng had his arm around you and you have his jacket on?" She quickly threw Tseng's jacket on the ground.

"No. I woke up as surprised as you."

"You didn't look surprised when you woke up."

"Why were you up so early?"

"I wake up early everyday. It's a habit."

"Why were you watching me?"

"There isn't much else to look at, is there?" She stopped herself from asking him about it further. "How's your leg doing?"

"It's okay, I guess. Still hurts, but not so bad."

"Hopefully it's not broken then."

"Hopefully." They fell silent, each thinking. Litta looked back over at Tseng, who was now awake.

"You're up," he commented.

"Yes. What happened last night?"

"I woke up and you were shivering. I put my jacket on you and sat next to you to try to keep you warm." _Like that's all you were doing,_ Squall thought. _We need to get out of here soon or we're all going to kill each other._


	9. The New Generation

**Chapter 9**

Danis put Vincent in her room before going to get Cloud from Reno. He had already taken Cloud to his room from last time. The same room where Reno beat him up and almost killed him.

"Reno!" Reno turned away from Cloud.

"What are you doing here Danis?"

"Let him go."

"What!"

"You heard me."

"You're on their side now?"

"That's right, and if you don't do as I say I'll be forced to hurt you."

"You can't make me do anything, especially let Cloud go. I'll let Krad deal with you."

"Who's Krad?" Reno didn't reply. Someone grabbed Danis' shoulder and turned her around.

"I am."

"I've never seen you before."

"I'm the new Turk." _I forgot about Rufus' program,_ she thought.

"So Rufus recruited you?"

"Yeah. So what kind of trouble is she causing Reno?"

"Just get her out of here," Reno told him. Krad grabbed her shoulder and dragged her out.

"You can't be causing too much trouble. You're too cute for that."

"And you're an idiot," Danis told him. "Let go of me." He released his grip. "How long have you been at Shin-Ra now?"

"Only a couple days. But I already know everything I need to."

"Right. I think you forgot something."

"What's that?"

"Don't let a good looking girl break your concentration." She rammed the butt of her gun into the back of his head. He slumped to the floor. She walked back into the room with Reno.

"Where's Krad?"

"On the floor outside." Reno glared at her. "Now let go of Cloud before I lose my patience." Reno turned back to Cloud, but instead Cloud hit him with his sword.

"Thanks for the distraction."

"No problem. Let's get out of here." Cloud followed her to Vincent, then outside in the direction of Yultown.

"Let's see what Squall has gotten himself into this time," Vincent commented.

--------

It had been over two hours. Squall and Tseng were still arguing, and Litta had had enough.

"You just can't stand her being close to anyone but you," Tseng was saying.

"And you can't stand the thought that she doesn't really want to be a Turk!" Squall shot back.

"Both of you SHUT UP!" They both looked at her. "I have been listening to you two argue about the stupidest things. I've had it up to here," she held her hand above her head. "If you two don't start getting along, or at least tolerating each other, I will personally kill you both with my own two hands!"

"You could have just said something," Tseng said.

"Stop. Don't talk. Don't say one more word, or I'll lose it." Tseng sat down, and it remained quiet for some time. After another hour and a half, Squall heard something moving outside the cave. Litta heard it too.

"I'm going to see if they can hear me," Tseng said. He began yelling at the entrance, but nothing happened.

"I'll check the cave," Litta told them. Neither knew what she was talking about, so looked amazed when she was able to squeeze through the hole again. "HELLO!" she called. The voices stopped. She held her breath, waiting for an answer.

--------

Vincent and Cloud had been leading the group around in the snow.

"You never know if an avalanche hit them while they were up here. They could be buried in the snow for all we know," Cloud was saying.

"Quiet," Vincent said. No one spoke. They heard a faint voice. It was calling 'hello'. "Did you hear that?" Everyone nodded.

--------

Litta called again, but this time there was an answer.

"Who's there?" came the faint reply.

--------

"It's Litta," Vincent told them. "They have to be buried under the snow right below us." They began clearing away the snow until they hit some rock.

"Danis," Cloud turned around, "use your gun and fire at the rock."

"No!" Vincent yelled. "That's probably what caused the avalanche in the first place, a gun shot."

--------

"Squall, Tseng," Litta shouted through the hole, "it's Vincent and the others." Squall was thrilled. Tseng was dismayed. "Tseng, at least we're getting out of here." Tseng agreed with that.

--------

"Keep digging!"

--------

Litta heard them digging above. _If only I could help. Wait, if they fall through, they'll fall right into the hole in the ground. I'll have to be prepared to catch whoever comes first. _She got herself ready.

--------

"We're there!" Cloud exclaimed. "I'll go first and see if they're all right." They made an order for who went next. He jumped through the small hole, feet first. Had he looked down, he might have seen there was no ground waiting to catch him, just Litta.

--------

"Got ya!" Litta breathed when she grabbed Cloud's arm. "Give me your other hand." She pulled him onto the ledge.

"Is everyone all right?"

"No. Squall's leg is busted. I don't know if it's broken, but he's doing okay. Who's coming down next?"

"Vincent." Seconds later, Vincent appeared through the whole. Litta and Cloud grabbed him in time. They caught Danis and then moved into the cave.

"Squall!" Cloud checked his leg, then noticed Litta's jacket. "Litta, you should have kept your jacket."

"I'm still here aren't I? It's fine, and the only thing I could find to hold together the brace."

"So if you all are down here," Tseng pointed out, "how are we supposed to get out?" Vincent looked at him.

"We can get through the rocks and ice easier with more of us working." Tseng said nothing, not having enjoyed being humiliated. It only took a half hour to get through, and Tseng was the first one out. Litta came second, helping Squall. Everyone else followed.

"It's good to see the sun again," Squall commented. "It may have only been a day, but it was a long one." Litta laughed.

"It was a long one," Litta commented. _And an awkward one._ She noticed Tseng standing in front of them. He turned around with his gun out. _Not again._

"Litta, put Squall down and get over here," he told her softly.

"Tseng, you know what will happen if you fire that gun. Don't try it."

"I said put him down."

"No. He needs help, and you can't do anything with that gun. I took out your ammo when you were sleeping and dropped it down the hole inside the cave."

"You lie." He fired his gun, but there was no ammo. Nothing happened.

"I didn't lie. Now put it away." He did so, but pulled out another one.

"Don't tell me you took the ammo out of this one."

"You're right, I didn't. But please, this isn't the place. We should get out of here while we can." Tseng thought for a second, then lowered his gun.

"Let's finish our trip to Yultown." He moved ahead.

"Why are you pretending to be a Turk?" Squall asked when Tseng was out of hearing distance. Cloud and the others were a little distance behind them, giving them some privacy.

"What makes you think I'm pretending?"

"Litta, if you were really a Turk, you wouldn't have helped me. Nor would you have stood up for me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Squall sighed.

"Will you ever open up to me again?" Litta faltered in her steps only a second, but Squall noticed. "Are you ever going to tell me how you feel?"

"Turks have no emotions."

"Turks may not, but you do."

"Even if that were true, I wouldn't tell them to you." _Not when you never told me how you felt._ She didn't realize that she had been thinking out loud, but Squall didn't tell her. They reached Yultown and Litta put Squall in a hotel room. When he was comfortable, she left him to get a doctor.

"I already got the doctor," Vincent told her.

"Oh, thanks." She waited outside. She looked around for Tseng but didn't see him. The doctor came out a few minutes later.

"He seems to be doing well. Whoever made that brace did a decent job. He's cured up now, but he might still be a little sore." The doctor left and Litta went in.

"How are you doing Squall?"

"I'm good. My leg's even better. Here's your jacket back." He handed it to her. "It still has some blood on it, so you might want to wash it soon."

"Thanks." Litta walked out the door and almost closed it.

"Wait!" She peeked back in. "I want to talk to you about something." Litta opened the door, but was pulled back.

"You're a Turk Litta," Tseng told her. "You will remain a Turk or you won't be able to save him the next time."

"Goodbye Squall." She shut the door on him. _Hopefully you can tell me some other time, when I'm not keeping you alive._ They turned a corner and ran into Cloud.

"Let her stay Tseng."

"She's a Turk Cloud if you didn't know. She will be coming with me." Cloud pulled out his sword and blocked Tseng's path.

"She's not going with you."

"Cloud," Litta said, "I'm going with him. Don't stop us." Cloud sighed and let them pass. Tseng led them to Sans' apparent winter home.

"Sans, open up." Tseng knocked on the door. Sans opened the door, but tried to close it again when he saw Tseng. He was pushed back by Tseng opening the door.

"What do you want?"

"Rufus wants you back."

"I still have vacation left."

"He needs you for some work. Are you coming?"

"What's she doing here?"

"She's a Turk."

"A Turk? Is she going through with his plan then?" Tseng nodded.

"What plan?" Litta asked.

"Of course you don't know," Sans said to himself. "I'm afraid you've come at a bad time. I'm a little busy with some things, but maybe in a week I'll come."

"Rufus wants you now," Tseng told him. "I'm not in the mood for an argument."

"Tseng, you and Rufus know I can't just pick up and leave like this. I need some time to get my things together."

"If you don't come, I have orders for what to do with you." Sans actually looked scared. He stood there for a minute considering his options and then bolted out the door. Litta and Tseng ran after him, but he knew the town better.

"Why did he run?"

"He wasn't going to come. He knows that I am supposed to kill him if he decides not to come."

"Why do you have to kill him?"

"He knows too much. If he talked to the wrong people, Rufus could be in some big trouble."

"What kind of information does he have?"

"That's classified information."

"Don't I qualify to know classified information?"

"Not yet. Right now we should concentrate on catching up to Sans."

"Where do you think he went?" Tseng thought for a minute.

"He's probably still in the town. He won't leave until tonight because he doesn't want to risk being seen."

"So are we going to stay up tonight to see if anyone leaves in the middle of the night?"

"Yes. If you want, you can rest now and we'll switch off through the night."

"Sure, but I'll take first watch."

"Fine, I'll get some rest then." He went to sleep, but Litta kept an eye on anyone moving about outside.

--------

"So why are you on our side?" Cloud was asking Danis. He had been asking her questions since Litta and Tseng left.

"Vincent was asking me questions the other day, and got me thinking. I decided the Turks weren't helping me and I didn't like who they were changing me into."

"So what will you do now?"

"...well, I was hoping to stay with your group. You seem to have the most contact with Sephiroth."

"There's a reason for that though."

"And that would be?"

"How much do you know about Litta?"

"I know Rufus thinks she's very important and that she's a Turk."

"What about her past?"

"That's classified information. Only Tseng or Reno can look at that information, besides Rufus of course." _Perhaps I should wait. If she's just out to kill Sephiroth, and she doesn't know that Litta is his daughter, it might be better to not tell her yet._

"Sephiroth just has some unfinished business with us." Danis shrugged.

"Whatever it is, I want to be here when he shows up again." Cloud left so Danis could rest, and went to his own room. He shut the door, then stepped back in surprise.

"Please, stay calm. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then why are you here?"

"I have information that may interest you." Cloud locked the door and shut the window.

"Sit down Sans." Sans sat on a nearby chair, a bit timidly. "What is this information?"

"It's about Rufus and his plans for Litta." Cloud listened closely. "As you know, he's been running a program designed for finding and training new Turks. Danis was the first recruit. Litta was next, and now Krad. Besides creating an army, he hopes to use Litta to-" Vincent picked that moment to knock on Cloud's door.

"Cloud?" he called. Cloud quickly let him in. "What is he doing here?"

"He claims to have information concerning Rufus' plan for Litta." Vincent said nothing, but sat in a chair close to the door. "Sans, you realize you aren't safe here. Tseng and Litta must be looking for you."

"They are. Perhaps I should leave and try contacting you later."

"Fine, but wait to leave until after dark." Sans did as Cloud suggested, and left just after midnight.


	10. More Death

**Chapter 10**

Tseng had taken over for Litta after a while, but they switched again a little before midnight. She had been pacing around the room for ten minutes, trying to stay awake. She looked out the window and saw Sans running across the courtyard.

"Tseng, wake up." Litta nudged him.

"What?"

"Sans is outside." Tseng got up and followed her outside. They quietly followed Sans outside the city.

"Where do you think you're going," Tseng asked him. Sans stopped dead.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" he asked.

"You know why. So have you decided to come with us?"

"That's not the reason I'm running around during the middle of the night. I was hoping you would understand why I'd like to be free from Rufus."

"Even if I did understand, it wouldn't change anything. I still have a job to do, as do you."

"Does that mean my alternatives haven't changed?"

"Correct. So it is in your best interest to come with us." Sans made no reply. He stood there, thinking. "Make up your mind."

"I already have."

"Then you have decided?"

"I've decided to see how in shape you are." He took off running, still away from the town.

"Litta, go after him."

"Why me?"

"Do it now." She had no choice. She caught up with him quickly. He was almost within her reach when she saw him go over a cliff. She was able to catch his arm before he dropped.

"I thought Tseng would have come after me himself."

"He sent me instead. Personally, I'd rather see you go free, so I'm going to help you."

"Right, a Turk help me." She began trying to pull him up. He was heavier than she had thought, and his hand was starting to slip.

"Hold on," she told him. She almost had him over when he started struggling. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting away from you." He broke his hand free from hers, but he couldn't get his footing. He slipped back over the edge. Litta couldn't grab his hand, but watched him fall. He screamed on the way down. He hit a ledge a little below her, and an ice pillar broke his fall. He didn't move. Litta looked down at him for a moment longer. _Idiot. I was trying to help you. And just because I'm a Turk, you didn't trust me. _She slowly made her way back to Tseng.

"What did Sans scream for?"

"He fell over a cliff."

"Oh well. We're heading back to Shin-Ra in the morning. Rufus is sending a helicopter for us, so we should get some sleep." Litta just followed him back to the town. He woke her up at five to leave.

"Why so early?"

"I don't want to have to deal with your friends today, so we're leaving before they get up." Litta got into the helicopter and looked at the driver. She didn't recognize him when he turned around.

"I don't believe we've met," he told her. He held out his hand, and Litta decided to shake it. "My name is Krad, I'm the newest Turk."

"Litta," she replied. Krad turned to Tseng, who nodded. They took off and were back at Shin-Ra in less than an hour. Tseng went straight to Rufus to give a report of what happened. Krad accompanied Litta to her room.

"So how old are you Litta?"

"Look, I'm not really in the mood to talk so why don't you go find something to do to entertain yourself." He gave her a look that should have made her feel sorry for him. "That look isn't going to work on me. I'm not the emotional type."

"I think you are. And I still want to know how old you are."

"If I answer, will you leave?"

"Maybe." Litta thought about it.

"I'm 19."

"Where are you from?"

"I thought you said you'd leave!"

"I said maybe. You didn't hear that I guess."

"Obviously. So if I answer this question, will you leave?"

"No."

"Then what will make you leave?"

"Not a whole lot."

"I want to be alone!"

"Fine, no need to get angry. All you had to do was ask nicely."

"All right. Will you please leave me alone right now?" Litta calmed herself down a little in hopes of sounding pleasant.

"Well...since you asked so nicely, no." Litta looked about ready to strangle him. "But there is something you could do to get rid of me."

"What?"

"You could give me a kiss."

"You pervert!" She pushed him out of the room and locked the door.

--------

"...then Sans fell off the cliff and died. Is that everything?" Rufus asked.

"Yes."

"I see. Well I'll take over the experiment until we find a new scientist. I was hoping to possibly use Sans as the specimen for the experiment, but perhaps I can find someone else." Tseng waited until he was done.

"If I may sir, I would be willing to volunteer for this experiment if that's all right with you."

"I was hoping you would. Meet me in the lab tomorrow afternoon. Around one." Tseng left, feeling proud to be a part of the experiment.

"What are you so happy about?" Litta asked when Tseng passed her room.

"You'll find out tomorrow." He continued walking. Her phone rang so she went back into her room to answer it.

"Litta, please come up to my office." Rufus hung up. Litta put back the phone and went to see Rufus.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Tomorrow I will be performing an experiment, and I would like you to be my assistant."

"What kind of experiment is this?"

"Just something I've been working on."

"Who are you doing this to?"

"Tseng volunteered." _So that's what he was so happy about._

"Is that all you're going to tell me about this experiment?"

"For now, yes. Just be in the main lab around one. You can go now." Litta walked back to her room. _Ican't help with an experiment. I hate that lab. Why would he want me to be his assistant? Is he planning on doing something to Tseng? What is this experiment anyways?_ Litta worked on her computer until she fell asleep much later.

--------

Cloud woke up in the middle of the night. _I could have sworn I heard someone scream. _He listened for a few minutes, but heard nothing. _Must have been a dream or something._ He went back to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, he decided to take a walk. He headed in what he thought was the direction of the scream he heard last night. He found some faint tracks in the snow, which led him to a cliff. He saw Sans' body below. It was partially covered by snow, but it was definitely Sans. Cloud swore under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Cloud jumped at the voice. He turned around to face Squall. Cloud pointed over the cliff, and Squall looked over. "Who is that?"

"His name is Sans. He was the scientist working for Rufus Shinra. He came to me yesterday. He said he had information about what Rufus had planned for Litta. Apparently Litta and Tseng got to him before he could get away."

"Did you learn anything from him before he died?"

"He mentioned a program Rufus is running. It's called 'The New Generation', for recruiting new Turks."

"Is that all?"

"He was going to try giving us more information later, but that's not possible now."

"Where are Tseng and Litta now?"

"Shin-Ra would be my guess." They headed back to the hotel. Vincent and Danis were awake.

"I wondered where you went," Vincent commented.

"Sans is dead," Cloud told him bluntly. "He fell or was pushed off a cliff."

"Turks?"

"I don't know. It's not like them to leave a mess."

"No, but if it was Litta, she's not a real Turk yet," Danis pointed out.

"True," Vincent said.

"What now?" Squall asked.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Cloud asked him.

"I'm fine." Cloud smiled, but only Vincent caught it. "What are we doing now? Are we going after Tseng and Litta, or something else?" Vincent surprised them with his thought.

"What do you think Danis?" he asked.

"What do I think?" She looked at Vincent like he'd lost his mind, then to Cloud. "I didn't know you wanted my opinion."

"Since Vincent asked for it, let's hear it," Cloud told her.

"All right. I think we should go after them. I overheard Rufus talking about an experiment he's been working on and I think he wants to try it out on someone pretty soon." Cloud considered this for a minute.

"Anyone have a better idea?" He waited. "Good. We're heading out right away." He waited for Danis and Vincent to leave, then pulled aside Squall.

"You want something Cloud?"

"I want to make sure you don't do anything stupid while we're there."

"Like what?"

"Like going after Litta and trying to bring her with us. I don't think she would appreciate it."

"Whatever." Squall turned to leave.

"Squall, I mean it. I want to find some information about Red XIII and Yuffie's deaths, and I don't want you to ruin my chance." Cloud shut the door. They left soon after that.

--------

Litta woke up at her computer desk. _I must have fallen asleep while I was working. _She turned off her computer and looked at the clock. _Twelve-thirty! When did I fall asleep? _She headed down to the lab.

"You're early," Rufus commented. He kept his attention on what he was doing.

"I didn't have anything else to do." Rufus just put her to work getting things ready for the experiment. Tseng came in a few minutes later.

"Since everyone is here early, we'll just get started. Litta, strap Tseng to the table." Rufus pointed to a table. Litta did as she was told. "Good, now watch the monitors while I hook up the equipment." She watched as he stuck some needles into Tseng, and hooked something up to his head that she didn't recognize.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Just something I've been working on. Are the monitors working?"

"Yes." _Something I do recognize, a computer._

"For now, I'll be doing most of the controlling. Just stand to the side until I tell you otherwise." Litta moved away, and watched as Rufus began pumping a liquid into Tseng's arm. At first, nothing happened. Then Tseng began to twitch.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Rufus didn't respond. She looked at the computer screen. The brain function bar seemed strangely low. She looked back at Tseng. He was now having what looked like seizures.

"Litta, try holding him still." She held his arms down, but she couldn't control his legs. "Keep his head still." She tried to force his head against the table. His eyes were rolling around, and he didn't seem to even be conscious of what was happening.

"What's going on?" Litta yelled over the noise.

"I'm not sure. The fluid seems to be flooding his brain, and it also looks like it's merging with his blood." Litta continued holding Tseng still while Rufus worked at the computers.

"Shouldn't you just shut it off?"

"No. I need to know what exactly is wrong so I can fix it."

"But Tseng's going to die!"

"He volunteered to do this."

"I don't think he planned on dying in this experiment, though!"

"Still. Take out the needle in his right arm." Litta reached across the table and pulled out the needle. The fluid was still being pumped so it dripped on her hand. It sizzled and burned her skin.

"What is this stuff?"

"Pay attention to what you're doing!" Tseng's head was beginning to move around. She held it down again. Slowly, Tseng stopped moving. Litta moved away, and walked over to Rufus.

"Is he okay?"

"No. He's still alive, but barely. We need to get the rest of the needles out." Litta began removing the needles and Rufus worked on the thing on Tseng's head.

"Are you going to stop this fluid from coming out of the tubes?"

"I forgot." Rufus walked back over to the computer and shut off the pump. "Keep an eye on him while I'm over here." After a few minutes Tseng began shaking again.

"Rufus!"

"Hold him down!" Litta kept his arms and head still, but his legs were out of control.

"What's happening?" Rufus was too busy with the computers to answer her. She watched him move from one screen to the next, shaking his head. After a few more minutes, Tseng went completely still. "Is he alive?"

"No. His brain and his heart have stopped working." The room was silent except for the noise from the computers. "You can leave now. I'll have Rude deal with this." Litta left the building entirely and took a walk. She had been walking for quite a while when she decided to turn back.

--------

Cloud was the first one up the steps, followed by Vincent. Squall and Danis were a little behind. Cloud went to Rufus' office, but no one was there.

"I guess he doesn't know we're here."

"Cloud, perhaps we should split up," Vincent spoke up. "Since Squall is the one with the least experience here, one of us should go with him."

"You do that." _You can keep him out of trouble._ "I'll stay with Danis."

"Squall and I will search for Litta."

"All right." Vincent and Squall took off.

"What are we going to do?" Danis asked.

"You can do what you like. I am going to find some information." Danis shrugged. _Let's see if Rufus left him computer on,_ Cloud thought. _He did, then let's find out who killed Yuffie and Red XIII. _Cloud scrolled through several documents before he found the one he was looking for. _What? Litta killed them!_ Cloud took off down the stairs in search of Litta. _Now I'm the one that wants answers!_ He was no longer in a good mood.

--------

Squall followed Vincent silently. They were looking for Litta, but the person they found first was Rufus. He was working on a computer in one of the labs. He was concentrating hard on his work and didn't hear them come in.

"What are you working on?" Vincent asked.

"Well, well, well. Vincent, you should know better than to ask me that. I have no reason to tell you. But since you haven't threatened me yet, I might be persuaded to give you a little information."

"Why are you working in this lab?" Squall asked.

"I was doing an experiment earlier, and once the body was out I continued working on the computer in here."

"What do you mean by body?" Vincent asked.

"The specimen couldn't handle the experiment. Rude disposed of the body."

"Whose body?" Squall asked.

"Why is that any of your concern?"

"Was it Litta?" Squall accused.

"Why on earth would I let Litta get hurt? It was one of our other, older, Turks."

"There are only three old Turks," Vincent told him. "Which one was it? Reno, Tseng, or Rude?"

"I think you have enough information. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish my lab report."

"Who did you kill?" Squall questioned him.

"If you really want to know, it was Tseng. Now please, leave me to my work." Rufus went back to working on the computer. Vincent left the room, so did Squall.

"Would he actually kill one of his Turks? And be that unaffected by it?"

"Rufus can do a lot of things. I can't believe he'd do something like this, but it appears he can, and he did. I suggest we find Litta soon." They started searching again.

--------

Danis left Cloud to follow Vincent and Squall. She went to the security room to see which floor they were on. She found them, but also found a recording of Litta leaving the building. Instead of telling Vincent and Squall where Litta was, she went to get Litta herself.


	11. Problems Arise

**Chapter 11**

Litta was just beginning to walk back when she heard something around her. She looked into the trees and saw Sephiroth coming towards her.

"It's good to see you again Litta."

"Sorry I can't say the same for you," Litta replied.

"You should learn to show more respect towards me."

"And why would I do that?"

"I can teach you respect, but you won't enjoy it. It will be rather painful."

"Then I guess I'll be skipping Respect 101." Sephiroth's smile faded to a straight line.

"Perhaps you should heed my words. I don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah, well, I want answers about my past. And I don't care if I have to hurt you to get those answers."

"Pain will not get you anywhere with me."

"Maybe not, but it will allow me to get out some anger." Litta pulled out her gun and fired a shot.

"You missed."

"You don't have to point out the obvious to me. I have eyes." She fired another bullet, but to the side of him this time. He moved to the side, but the not the one Litta chose.

"You shouldn't work on predicting me."

"You shouldn't concentrate on criticizing me." Sephiroth pulled out him sword. Danis came up on them at this point. She stayed well hidden, but listened to their conversation.

"Maybe I shouldn't, but someone should. Perhaps Squall should tell you what you need to improve," he teased her.

"Leave Squall out of this."

"But you like him, don't you?"

"He has nothing to do with you and me."

"Even so, he has something to do with you." Litta didn't respond, so Sephiroth charged at her. She jumped away just in time. "You'll need to move faster than that to avoid me."

"What kind of a father are you? You just attack your daughter and then tease her about things. Do you even care about me?"

"Of course I care about you, you're my daughter. I only want what's best for you."

"If you want what's best for me, then stay out of my life!" Litta fired some more shots, all in random spots. All but two bullets missed Sephiroth, but those two hit dead on. "You'll also need to move quicker to avoid me." Sephiroth charged at her again. When she moved to the side, he changed direction. He cut the side of her arm. She backed up quickly, holding her arm. He came at her again, but she didn't see it coming until he was in front of her. He continued attacking her, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing. She fired a few shots, but mostly concentrated on dodging Sephiroth's attacks. After one last attack, she fell to her knees. He came at her again.

"Stop!" He lowered his sword and knelt down in front of her. "I can't take any more," she admitted.

"I'll leave you for now, but the next time we meet, I'm going to ask you to read that book of yours. If you don't have it or refuse to read it, I'll put you through more pain. Keep that in mind." He walked off. _So she's his daughter,_ Danis thought. _Interesting. _Litta stood up slowly. She began making her way back to Shin-Ra. About half way there she heard someone calling her name.

"Litta!" She recognized the voice, but couldn't place it. She looked up as someone came towards her, but her eyes were already clouding up a bit. "Litta, what happened?"

"Sephiroth." She closed her eyes and fell forward. Squall caught her. Vincent came up behind him.

"Is she all right?"

"She's not unconscious, but she needs help." Danis came out of the bushes, but they didn't notice her yet.

"Take me back," Litta whispered.

"What?" Vincent had been talking and Squall had missed what she'd said. "What did you say Litta?" Squall asked her.

"Take me back to Shin-Ra." Squall looked at her, but she had her eyes closed.

"What do you think Vincent?"

"She wants to go back to Shin-Ra, so she wouldn't be happy if we took her with us. Let's just do what she said."

"Are you kidding? We can't take her back to Shin-Ra. There's no telling what experiment Rufus will do on her."

"We don't really have a choice. We should do what she told us to do." Danis walked a little ways behind them as they made their way back. While they walked, Squall began questioning Litta.

"Why were you out here by yourself?"

"I needed to take a walk."

"What for?"

"I needed to walk off my feelings. They were overwhelming me."

"What feelings?"

"About the experiment. I was Rufus' assistant, and I helped him run it. Tseng was the specimen, but something went wrong and he died. I helped kill Tseng, but I don't feel good about it." Squall said nothing. Litta opened her eyes.

"Squall!" He looked down at her. "I didn't realize it was you carrying me."

"Who did you think it was?"

"I don't know. Your voice sounded familiar but I couldn't see who it was. I still can't see clearly, but I finally recognized your voice." _My eyes are actually getting worse._

"Why do you want us to take you back to Shin-Ra?"

"Squall, I'm a Turk. You can't change that."

"But I don't understand. Why would you become a Turk?"

"I," she sighed. _Maybe I can get away with it out here._ "I was forced to. Rufus told me that I had to become a Turk or you would be killed. If I did, you would stay safe. That's why I have to be a Turk."

"Litta, I can take care of myself." She wasn't listening anymore. She didn't appear to be unconscious though. "Litta, are you all right?"

"I'm in a lot of pain, that's all." Squall looked at all her wounds. _I don't have any choice. I have to heal her._

"Litta, I have to heal you."

"No!" Squall pulled out a potion and used it. Litta waited for the pain, but nothing happened. In fact, there was no pain at all. "Put me down." Squall did.

"Are you in pain?"

"No, I'm not. I feel fine." Litta was a bit confused. "Shouldn't the magic have hurt me by now though?"

"I didn't use magic. I used a potion."

"Hmmm. Maybe it's just curative magic that hurts me. Maybe potions don't affect me."

"So we could have avoided causing you pain all those times if we had used potions?"

"I guess so." Litta was obviously happy. She gave Squall a hug, but then quickly stopped. "Thank you," she said.

"Your welcome. I'm glad we know how to cure you now."

"Me too."

"Are you two coming or what?" Vincent called back.

"Hold on Vincent," Squall told him. "Litta, please don't go back to the Turks. I'll be fine. You don't have to put yourself through that just to protect me." Litta thought about his words for a few minutes before responding.

"I guess you're right. Okay, I'm coming with you." _Yes,_ Squall screamed silently.

"Good." He told Vincent, and then Danis came up behind them.

"How long have you been behind us?" Squall asked.

"The whole time. It was interesting listening to everything that was said."

"Since we don't have to take Litta back, we should keep her away from them," Vincent said. "I'll go get Cloud while the rest of you head to Nibelheim. That way we're about as far away from Shin-Ra as we can get. I'll meet you there with Cloud." He looked at Squall, then left.

"You heard the man. We're heading to Nibelheim."

"But that's where the Shin-Ra mansion is," Danis mentioned. "Wouldn't it be better to stay away from there?"

"Maybe, but we'll go there now until Vincent catches up. Otherwise he wouldn't know where to look for us."

"Good point." They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Danis was thinking about one thing the entire walk over.

--------

Cloud was running out of the building when Vincent came back.

"What's with you?" Vincent asked him.

"Where's Litta?" _He knows about her jobs._

"I sent her to Nibelheim with Squall and Danis. That's where we're meeting them. Why do you want to know where she is?"

"I need to talk to her about something."

"What's that?"

"I'm sure you must know about who killed Yuffie and Red XIII."

"Yes I do."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I saw the way you reacted. I wasn't the only one who was afraid of what you would do if you found out."

"What do you mean, 'the only one'?"

"We should head to Nibelheim before the Turks start looking for Litta." Cloud wanted to ask him what he meant, but remained silent. _Another time perhaps._

--------

Squall checked them into the hotel and kept watching for Cloud and Vincent. Danis and Litta were upstairs. Danis had been in her room, but now she walked into Litta's room.

"So you decided to quit the Turks."

"Yeah, what of it?" _I still don't really trust her. She may be on our side, but that doesn't mean she won't still act like a Turk. She is after Sephiroth._

"I've just been wondering about some things."

"Do these things involve me?"

"Yes. I heard why you joined the Turks, or why you had to. But why were you there in the first place?"

"I was finding information."

"What information?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious." _She knows something; otherwise she wouldn't be so curious._

"I was looking for information about my mother."

"Did you find it?"

"Yes."

"Was that all that you were looking for?"

"No."

"Then what else?"

"Stuff about my history."

"Like who your father is?"

"No, not that."

"You already knew that?"

"Yes."

"Then who is he?"

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" Litta was losing her patience. She knew Danis was leading up to something.

"Because I was there when you battled with Sephiroth! I heard what you said to each other. I know that you're related to him. I know he's your father." She said the last word with enough hatred that even Litta picked up on it.

"So what if I'm related to him? Why do you care?"

"Because I hate your father! He killed my family! My whole life was destroyed by him because he was after you! And you're just the same!"

"I am nothing like my father!"

"You're exactly like him!"

"How can you say that?"

"Because you don't care about anyone but yourself!"

"That's not true! I care about my friends. Sephiroth kills people and hurts them without any reason. I would never do that!"

"Didn't you kill Red XIII and Yuffie? And Yuffie was your friend!"

"I," she stopped. _She's right. I did kill them. But I'm still not like Sephiroth._ "But I was doing that to protect Squall. Had it been Sephiroth, he would have just let Squall die!"

"That's not the point. You still killed them. You are exactly like your father!"

"Shut up!" Litta had had enough. She ran past Danis and out the door. She went out through the back and headed into the mountains. She ran for a while, just thinking. _How dare she compare me to my father! What does she know about it? I'm nothing like him._ It was cold and looked like it was going to storm, but she wasn't paying attention_. I wish I had my jacket. But I never washed it when Squall gave it back to me._

She finally rested against a rock. As she sat down, something fell out of her pocket. _The book!_ She started flipping through the pages. _Maybe there's something in here that can tell me how to get rid of Sephiroth._ She read through the words, skimming over them. She heard something, and looked up. Lightning was flashing above, and the clouds were swirling over her head. _Why does this seem familiar?_ As she looked on, she saw a figure descending from the clouds. It was a woman, and she was beginning to move. _No! I must have been reading out loud!_ The woman was moving towards her.

"Many thanks, my child," she said. Litta didn't respond. The woman just disappeared into the sky. _Now what have I done?_ It started snowing, but Litta put her head in her lap. _I don't even know where I am._

--------

Squall came up a few seconds after Litta had left.

"What's going on up here?" he asked Danis. "And where's Litta?"

"We were just having an argument. She ran out the door a few minutes ago."

"What did you say to her?"

"I was just speaking my mind. I told her how much she was like Sephiroth."

"You idiot!" He ran out the door and after Litta. He noticed that it looked like it was going to storm. _Where are you Litta? _Suddenly, he saw lightning flashing at the top of the mountain, and the clouds were circling together. _That's strange._ He headed to the top of the mountain, and saw Litta slumped against a rock. "Litta!" She didn't move. He walked over to her. She had clearly been hit by lightning. He shook her gently until she moved. "Litta." She looked up at him.

"I'm sorry! I didn't realize what I was doing!" She put her head back down.

"Sorry about what? What happened?" She didn't look up. "What did you do?"

"I brought her back. I brought back Ultimacia." Squall knelt down beside her.

"Are you sure?"

"I accidentally read the book out loud. A woman came out of the clouds and thanked me, then left. Didn't you say the other person I could revive using the book was called Ultimacia?"

"Yes, I did. We need to talk to Cloud and Vincent about this. Why did you leave?"

"Danis and I weren't getting along," she said.

"Why not?"

"She started saying I was exactly like Sephiroth and that I would kill people for no reason."

"And you listened to her?"

"Well..."

"Let's get you back to the hotel and healed up." He picked her up and started carrying her back down.

"Squall, why do you always carry me?" He didn't respond at first.

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just that any time I'm hurt you are always the one who ends up carrying me. I'm just wondering why."

"Vincent and Cloud are always busy making decisions and I'm sure Danis won't carry you. That only leaves me."

"Oh." He got her back to the hotel and used a potion on her. He then left to see if Vincent and Cloud had returned.

--------

Vincent had been quiet the whole time, and Cloud had tried to leave him alone. But he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"How could she do it?"

"Cloud, listen to me. Litta is not going to want to talk about it. Leave her alone right now."

"Fine." They continued on their way. When they reached the hotel, Squall was just looking for them.

"Vincent, we have a problem."

"What?"

"Can I talk to you about this alone?" He looked at Cloud cautiously.

"Cloud, why don't you leave us alone for a minute?" Vincent asked.

"Why can't you tell me Squall? Are you trying to hide something from me?"

"No. I just would rather Vincent be the first to know." Cloud walked off.

"So what is it that you want to tell me?"

"Litta ran off a little while ago. I already brought her back, but she brought back Ultimacia. She's sorry about it, but we're going to have to deal with it."

"You're sure? Did you see it?"

"No, I didn't see it. But with the way the clouds were acting and what Litta told me, I'm pretty sure Ultimacia is alive again."

"I can see why you didn't want to tell Cloud."

"Is he going to be okay around Litta?"

"He should be. I've been able to keep him calm so far. I'm not sure if he can handle any more conflicts with Litta. Where is she now?"

"She's up in her room. She was hit by lightning, but she's already healed up." They talked a little more before they went to bed. Danis went to bed as well, leaving Cloud and Litta the only ones awake. Cloud had been listening to Squall's conversation with Vincent, and he had lost it. Litta heard someone coming up the stairs. She could tell whoever it was wasn't happy. Cloud didn't knock before entering her room. At first, Cloud couldn't find any words, but when he did, they weren't pleasant.

"Do you have any idea what you've done! You've brought Ultimacia back to life! Now Sephiroth can bring Jenova back and we'll have to fight them all!"

"I know that Cloud," Litta said quietly. "I already apologized to Squall, and I'm apologizing to you now. I didn't mean to."

"I don't care if you didn't mean to!" he snapped. "The fact is you did. And above that, I've found out that you're the one who killed Red XIII and Yuffie!"

"I didn't want to kill Yuffie."

"But you did. And what about Red XIII? Did you care about him?"

"I didn't know who he was."

"No, of course not. You probably wouldn't have cared either. Maybe you are turning into Sephiroth!"

"That's not true!"

"I don't care. I told myself that I would return the favor to whoever killed Red XIII and Yuffie. Now I know who did it and I plan to keep my word."

"Cloud, you can't kill me." He moved towards her quickly. He put his arm against her throat and cut off her air supply. "Cloud..." He made no reply. He punched her in the stomach, but kept his arm against her throat.

"I'm coming back for you." He suddenly walked out of the room. Litta gulped in air. She didn't stick around to find out if Cloud would really be back. She grabbed her stuff and walked out of the hotel. _That's all I am to them. After all this time, it seems like nothing has changed. Cloud wants to kill me for what I did. I don't want to know how Vincent feels about my bringing back Ultimacia. Danis wants me dead just because I'm related to Sephiroth, and she still wants him dead. Squall is just...confusing._

"Litta!" She stopped thinking and turned back around. "Litta, where are you going?" Squall was coming after her.

"I'm leaving. It's clear where I belong."

"What do you mean? You belong with us."

"No, I don't. You may think that, but I know better. Just ask Cloud or Danis. I'm going to fix the problems I've caused."

"What- you can't mean you're going after Ultimacia!"

"I am. I brought her back, so it's up to me to kill her."

"You can't. You don't know how hard she is to defeat."

"I'll do just fine."

"You need our help."

"I don't need anyone's help! This is my job. Just leave me alone. All I am to you is a tool. I can get you places the others can't, like close to Sephiroth. I could read the book, I had the book. I'm sick of being used by everyone!" She started to walk away but Squall grabbed her arm.

"Don't go."

"Let go of me."

"No. I'm not going to let you leave to go kill yourself."

"It's my choice. I'm warning you, let me go."

"No." Litta swung around and punched him in the face. He passed out and fell to the ground. Litta left him there for the others to find. _I won't be anyone's tool anymore. If __I've caused so many problems, then I'll be the one to get rid of them._ She continued walking, intent on finding Ultimacia and Sephiroth.

**End of Part 2**


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